The Awakening
by Kmm1128
Summary: When Auger finds himself stranded in the Andes Mountains, a race begins to find Ma'el's final legacy.
1. Chapter 1

The Awakening

Chapter 1: Family Matters

Summer was just coming to an end. Election season was just around the bed with the upcoming congressional and senatorial elections. The Taelons had never been around for an election period for both houses, so they were interested in the news involving the candidates. There had been little activity on the Mothership or the Washington Embassy. The priests were still biding their time, which was beginning to frustrate the Atlantic National Alliance. They had agents working on the Mothership and in most embassies in Europe and North and South America, but everyone had trouble getting to the Moonbase, which apparently the priests had chosen for their stronghold. The human news was slow, but the Taelon news was unsettling. Many of the Taelons had undergone the cleansing. The priests had apparently slowed their activity due to Da'an's interference. They were now focusing on Taelons across the universe, allegedly in fear that the illness running rampant in the Commonality was spreading to Taelons away from Earth.

Malley and Liam had become good friends, and Liam had been picking around Malley's interests to see where his loyalties with the Taelons lay. He was considering offering Malley a position with the ANA. T'than and Zo'or were working very closely together now, an unsettling alliance that the ANA had not seen coming. If they were going to get to the depths of this alliance, they needed someone closer to the two than Liam. Sandoval was out of the question, so Malley was the perfect candidate. But the deeper Liam got into Malley's psyche, the more he realized the recruitment of Malley was highly unlikely. Malley had a genuine soldier's loyalty. It was one of the things Liam liked about him. He reminded Liam of his mother.

With such limited access to the Synod and the priests, it was difficult to determine the strategies of both sides, but it was apparent that a small coalition of Taelon minds had formed within the Synod and in other Taelon castes that was fiercely loyal to Zo'or or T'than—no one what quite sure whom they specifically served. Many of these Taelons were allies of T'than who came from outside the Milky Way galaxy. More and more of the Taelons would arrive day by day, and they were slowly replacing key members of the Synod. Five had already been replaced. Xia'tan and Ba'hor, the oldest members of the Synod, were among them. The deposed former members of the Synod retired and relocated to territory neutral to the Taelon-Jaridian War. A battle of wills was definitely ensuing.

The battle was filtering down to the companion protectors as well. Humans had been choosing sides as early as the day of the priests' arrival, but as rumors circulated of Taelon resistance, humans began choosing sides. One of the newest resistors was Lydia Deladier. She was an agent of the FBI who had served in the same intelligence sector as Sandoval did in the SI War, and she was much like him. She was quiet and calculating around the Taelons, but around humans she had a wicked and venomous tongue. The rumor was that she and Sandoval were becoming close friends. Both of them vehemently denied the rumors. Deladier had just been placed as the lieutenant of Zo'or's personal volunteer squad. Still, it was difficult to determine whom Deladier actually served. She seemed more interested in T'than than Zo'or, something Sandoval found disturbing.

There was not much useful information coming from the Taelons or the humans working for the ANA. With so little to work on, it was difficult to find a good avenue for attack. This worried many of the leaders working for the ANA. They did not like waiting for the priests and the Synod to make their move, and they especially hated not knowing the strategies of both sides. The ANA could only pursue one strategy: get more information, fortify the ANA headquarters, and prepare for the enemy to strike.

With that as the agenda, Auger was put in charge of creating a security system for the building. Hubble had decided to put Auger's talents to good use. The only reason he accepted was for the enormous paycheck Hubble had offered for the successful creation and maintenance of a superior security system and communications system.

Auger had finished installing a security system for the ANA building, but now he was working on a superior communications program that would enable ANA agents and resistance members to communicate without the possibility of trace or penetration.

When his shift was done, he decided to check in on Da'an, Link, and Ariel. Auger was becoming a frequent visitor to Link's place because he loved seeing Ariel. She made him feel closer to Lili. Liam and Auger were on their way now with a stuffed tiger and a Rubick's cube as presents. There was no occasion, but they decided that Ariel could use some more toys. Most of the child's entertainment came from Da'an using her powers to make things out of water or clay to impress the child. They decided Da'an was probably getting tired of the routine.

They both walked up to the loft and rang the bell. Liam was the only visitor that ever rang the bell. That was how Da'an and Link always knew it was Liam.

Da'an opened the door wearing a black t-shirt and blue jeans.

"You got the gun in your pocket, don't you?" Auger asked her. It was one of the many routines Link had taught Da'an.

She just ignored Auger and let the two in. "Tay'jay and Ta'lay are here too."

"Really? Why?" Liam asked.

"Nothing important. We were just talking," Da'an said, which meant it was something important that Da'an was not at liberty to disclose to anyone else.

Tay'jay was currently chasing the scampering little infant while Ta'lay brought tea for the group. The moment he saw Liam and Auger, he walked back to the kitchen to find more glasses.

"You got any coffee?" Auger asked Ta'lay as Da'an showed them to the couch.

"In this house, we drink by the healing powers of leaves and roots, not beans," Link said.

Auger chuckled. "All right then. I'll have tea with extra sugar."

"She's walking all over the place," Liam mentioned as Tay'jay continued chasing Ariel.

"Once she learned how to use those damn legs, she hasn't stopped," Link said. "We've been chasing her all over the loft. Thank God we don't have a two-story."

"I got ya!" Tay'jay exclaimed grabbing the girl and tickling her. Ariel squealed in delight. She was wearing a pair of overalls with a pink t-shirt underneath.

"She's getting big," Auger said.

"Oh, we know, trust me," Da'an said.

"Has she started talking yet?" Liam asked.

"Nope," Da'an and Link said simultaneously.

"Would either of you like some honey to go with your tea?" Ta'lay asked Liam and Auger.

"No thanks," they both said.

"So what brings you two here?" Tay'jay asked carrying Ariel on his shoulders.

"Just visiting," Liam said showing them the toys they had brought with them. "We come bearing gifts."

"Thank you," Da'an said taking them.

Tay'jay put Ariel down to let her play with them. She immediately went for the Rubick's cube trying to figure it out.

"I told you, Liam," Auger said. "Alien-human hybrids always go for the puzzles. You were the same way."

"I'd think he'd remember," Da'an said. "It was not that long ago."

"Shut up, Da'an," Liam said giving her a playful sneer. "So what were you guys talking about?"

"Nothing important," Ta'lay and Tay'jay said quickly.

"Uh, what they said," Link agreed pointing to them.

"Are you sure?" Auger asked in a suspecting tone.

"Your tea is done!" Ta'lay announced quickly brining it to them in a tray.

"We were talking about the upcoming elections," Da'an said to them.

Tay'jay got to work helping Ariel with the Rubick's cube.

"Yeah," Link improvised. "Pretty big year. Both houses are campaigning."

"I know," Liam said. "Many of them started showing commercials early in the month. It's been driving me nuts. Thank God my residence is in DC. I don't have to vote."

"Uh…you know it's not just the congressional and senatorial elections going on," Link not. "There's the district attorney, the judges, and a half-dozen city reps. on the ballot too."

"But most of the local elections are before November," Da'an said. "They had the school board elections just last month."

"He's still gotta vote for something," Link said. "I know I'm gonna."

"Touché," Liam said.

"What about in Britain, Ta'lay?" Auger asked. "What are Parliamentary elections like?"

"How the devil should I know?" Ta'lay asked back. "I am a Taelon, I am a _lu'yoi_, I do not have citizenship, and therefore I never had to vote. What reason would I have to pay attention to politics?"

"An inquiring mind?" Tay'jay asked.

"Regrettably you do not fall under that category," Ta'lay said.

"What are you talking about? I'm extremely curious," Tay'jay objected humorously. "For example, I've often wondered what gender you might be if you were an Espelon. Because if you're a girl, then maybe you and I should get together after this little play date and just 'dive in' like Link and Da'an did."

"Hey, don't get us involved in your sexual escapades," Link said.

"And what if I were a male?" Ta'lay asked.

"Well, that would explain my sudden unspoken attraction to androgynous energy beings, and, upon landing the right one, I'd just lie back and accept my sexuality," Tay'jay said actually lying back on the couch to prove his point.

"You are a swine," Ta'lay scoffed.

"I'd prefer to be called a pig. There's just no substitute for that harsh 'puh' sound that comes out of an angry woman slandering a womanizer," Tay'jay said. "Or a male slandering a homosexual moonlighter with wonderful charisma. Only time will tell."

Ta'lay was seconds away from slapping Tay'jay, but suddenly, Ariel started to whine. She dropped the Rubick's cube and whimpered in pain. Da'an rushed to her aid, but a brilliant blue light that enveloped the child stopped her. The group watched in awe and fear as the light grew brighter and brighter. Then, as quickly as it appeared, it died out. The brilliance of the light had torn through Ariel's clothes leaving her completely nude. She now appeared as the equivalent of a five-year-old girl.

The group was too stunned to say anything.

"Uh, Mazel Tov! It's a girl!" Link cried when nothing else came to him.

The stunned group now turned, giving him looks of confusion and sarcasm.

"Mommy!" Ariel cried running to Da'an in delight.

"Uh, wow," Da'an said, trying to figure out what to say.

"I'll get a blanket," Tay'jay said.

"Well, if I had known you were going to grow this tall this soon, I would have bought you the proper clothing," Da'an said to Ariel. "Congratulations on your first growth spurt Ariel."

"Thank you, Mommy," Ariel said happily.

Tay'jay immediately returned with a long blue blanket and covered Ariel.

"Well, this is an unexpected development," Ta'lay said.

"I thought Jaridian children grew gradually like humans," Liam said. "They just did it faster because of their metabolisms."

"They are supposed to, and she had been doing that," Ta'lay said, "but Taelons grow in sudden, instantaneous spurts like Kimera. I wonder if she will continue to grow like a Taelon from now on. I had always thought, however, that her human and Jaridian DNA would counter this."

"She appears to be growing at the same rate as a Taelon too," Da'an said. "I believe I had my first spurt around this time."

"Yeah, I remember I did too," Tay'jay said.

"Which means that she will probably have three more spurts," Ta'lay said. "An adolescent one at around three, a young adult one at around ten, and the final adult spurt at sixteen."

"Wait," Link exclaimed, "she's gonna be a teenager when she's ten! Oh, God!"

"Link, we will worry about that when we get to it," Da'an said. "Right now, we need to celebrate. Taelons only experience four spurts in their lives and each would call for a family celebration."

"And clothing," Tay'jay added. "Girl's gotta have clothing."

"Well, I'm not the best at clothes shopping," Liam said uneasily.

"I am," Auger chimed in.

"You are not buying my child clothes, Auger," Da'an snapped taking a serious look at his bright yellow and red shirt with the matching trousers.

"Ingrate," Auger scoffed. "Some people just have no appreciation for the Afro-centric look."

"You can dress that look up with fancy words all you want. It still screams…gay," Tay'jay said, with a big whisper upon the word 'gay' to make for a fun contrast.

"Cool it Romeo and…Romeo. I'll buy the clothes," Link said. "Don't worry. For now, she can wear that green Sunday dress Street got her. It was too big anyway."

"Well, I will go get her dressed," Da'an said. "We can go clothes shopping right afterwards. And then we can go for…what…ice cream?"

"Yeah!" Ariel exclaimed, nodding eagerly.

"Well, you all can go, but I believe I must sit this one out," Ta'lay said. "It would look a tad unscrupulous to see a Taelon walking with a group of humans to an ice cream shop. I think I will return to my office."

"I'll take her," Tay'jay said, "…or him. The fates are still deciding. The anticipation is killing me."

"That would not be the suspense, Tay'jay," Ta'lay said. "That would be the pain of my foot kicking you to a bloody pulp the moment we leave this loft."

"Ah ha! Espelons are made of energy. There'll be no blood from this pulp."

"Ah ha! Thank you for giving me the perfect avenue for psychological torture," Ta'lay said.

"Aww! Now, he gonna play hard to get."

"Knock yourselves out," Link said to them. "Let's get ready."

* * *

"When did you get to be such an ass?" Da'an asked Tay'jay as she was changing.

"When did _you_ suddenly start reducing yourself to the utilization of curse words?" Tay'jay asked back. "If I recall, you're a mom, now."

"I only curse around you and people I do not like. Never around Ariel. Children are so impressionable," Da'an said. "But back to the subject at hand. You know Ta'lay will never want you if you keep teasing him like this, regardless of whether or not you choose to classify him with a gender. It didn't work with me and Ar'ron and it will not work with you and Ta'lay."

"In Ar'ron's defense, he lacked the subtle charm needed to hook in the fish."

"So now you are using fishing analogies?"

"Oh, definitely. Wooing mates is just like fishing. You give 'em some slack to let 'em know you're interested. Then, the moment they fall for the bait, you reel 'em in. Oh, they'll fight, especially the tough ones. That's a given, but if you put in enough of yourself, and pull 'em outta the water with all your might, they just have to lie back and accept it."

Da'an was flabbergasted. "My brother is a sexual predator."

"No, I'm a womanizer. You've obviously got the two mixed up, like most women."

"Okay, big shot. Two can play at this game. Perhaps you can help me solve a dilemma that has been in the back of my mind for quite some time."

"What would that be?" Tay'jay asked, standing haughtily to match his sister's pose.

"I want you to look directly at my breasts and tell me which one is bigger," Da'an said with her hands folded directly under them to give them an extra push up.

"Huh?" Tay'jay asked, trying to make sure he had not heard what he thought he had just heard.

"You heard me, big man. You're so comfortable around women after all—so…masculine. A womanizer like you would just jump at this big an opportunity," Da'an taunted. "After all, is the fondling of breasts not one of the primary goals of all womanizers? Or would that be the occasional slapping of the butt? I can never tell."

"Uh…look normally I'd be all over you, right now…but…you're my sister," Tay'jay said. "I mean, I'm staring at your breasts right now and thinking of all the Bible verses that frown upon this kinda thing."

"Oh I see. When the women are playing hard to get, you can't help but chase after them like a common dog. But when one is comfortable enough with her sexuality to respond to your lustful advances, you're suddenly so intimidated that you hide behind the pages of a religion you don't even believe in."

"Are you two almost ready?" Link asked opening the door.

"Um, does the word 'privacy' mean anything to you?" Tay'jay asked blushing a deep blue.

"Uh, excuse you, but this is my house last time I checked," Link shot back. "What's going on here?"

"Apparently this stunning specimen of masculinity and bigotry is not man enough to stand up to me and my chest. You know, I find it fascinating dear brother that you chauvinists claim that women are nothing but sex dolls and playmates, yet when one actually embraces that role, confirming your narrow-minded beliefs, you suddenly run like a frightened little…girl."

"H-Hey. I was just joking with you and Ta'lay. You know I'm not really like that," Tay'jay said timidly. "Ask any one of my female crew members. They'll tell you. I can't stop whatever comes outta my mouth."

Link was completely confused and a little worried about where this was going. "What disturbing episode of Melrose Place did I just walk into?"

"Get out while you can, Link. It's a trick," Tay'jay said quickly.

"Shut up, man-whore," Da'an snapped haughtily. "Perhaps a more disciplined and respectful man should earn the right to participate with me. Link would you like to help me with a small conundrum involving my chest?"

"Is this some kind of hypothetical question, or do I need to bring my wallet?" Link asked, not liking at all the web Da'an had just spun.

"Well, don't be a pussy like our failed woman poacher here," Da'an said suggestively. "Step over here and tell me which of my breasts is bigger."

"Uh…whoa, whoa—wait," Link said putting his hands up instinctively. "You-You want me…to feel around on your boobs…to find out which one's bigger?"

"Sure baby. Is that a problem?"

"Don't mind if I do!" Link said in excitement.

"Uh, I did not see any of this. I was never here," Tay'jay said walking out of the bedroom as fast as he could, yet he could not help feeling a small portion of his pride had been shot down. "A dime a dozen for males right now is just two much."

Link got close to Da'an and stood staring directly at her chest.

"Well…what's wrong?" Da'an asked.

"Well…the shirt's gotta add an extra millimeter or so. I thought we were going for accuracy," Link said stilling staring at her chest.

"What is a millimeter going to do to accuracy?" Da'an asked in confusion.

"Well, I don't know. I might not get a good enough grip," Link said casually.

"Oh for the love of—" Da'an unbuttoned the white blouse she had put on and revealed a white bra of the same color.

"Uh…do we need the bra?" Link dared to ask.

"Perhaps you did not understand the ultimate purpose of this exercise, which has walked out of the room with his tail between his legs."

"Then why are you still letting me touch your boobs?"

"I could think of at least five reasons—three of which need not be addressed—but ultimately this has been in back of my mind ever since I received this body. Now, I believe that it is left one, but if I stare at the mirror long enough, the right one appears to be bigger. I do not trust my eyes."

"Well, that sounds like a very reasonable and…surprisingly plausible and scientific explanation," Link said still shocked at the overall audacity Da'an had to even drag him into this. "Okay, now let's do this thing." He nervously lay one hand on Da'an's breast as if he was about to touch a mine. When nothing happened, he relaxed his grip and began squeezing the breast doing everything in his power to maintain a professional look.

Da'an smirked at his efforts. No matter what he did, she could tell he was enjoying this immensely. She was starting to wonder if this had been a good idea.

Link then began to examine the right breast with the same hand the same way. After "careful" examination he concluded, "Okay…I-I think the left one's bigger. You see I can wrap my whole hand around the right one, whereas I am unable to with the left one." He demonstrated for her. "Uh…but I just wanna be sure." He squeezed both of her breasts again. "Okay…just wanna be sure." He did it again… "One more time," …and again… "I'm not so sure. Let me confirm one more time" …and again.

"Okay, now you're just being greedy!" Da'an snapped in irritation.

"The left one! The left one. Uh…the left one's bigger Da'an," Link said quickly.

"Thank you very much," Da'an said very professionally as if the situation was nothing more than a dinner meeting with a business partner.

"Hey, Da'an. Are you guys ready y—" Liam's mouth dropped open when he walked in on the two and saw Link's hand wrapped around Da'an's left breast. Both of them were just as surprised as well.

Link searched his mind for a logical explanation during the awkward silence. When he found none, he decided to wing it. "Uh…and…that is how you give yourself a breast exam, honey," he said trying to act naturally.

"Um…of course—of course," Da'an said, too overwhelmed with nervousness to disagree.

"Be-Because you know, you don't have to just be a human to get cancer," Link said.

Liam's mouth dropped even lower and his eyes got even wider.

"Well, obviously. I mean, I am a woman…with-with breasts," Da'an stuttered.

"You know, I can come back," Liam said turning around and walking out of the doorway trying to forget everything he had just seen.

"I told you not to go in there!" Tay'jay's voice cried from outside.

"Uh…so…did that solve your problems?" Link asked Da'an once he was gone.

"I believe so. Um, Link, dearest?"

"Yeah?" Link asked in a short, nervous sigh.

"Your hand is still squeezing my breast…and it is starting to hurt."

"Oh! Oh. Sorry about that. I didn't even realize it was there," Link said removing his hand and then making a vain effort to laugh about it (even though they both secretly did find it funny).

"With my hypothesis proven, I suppose I need to provide a more valid explanation for why this phenomenon fascinated me enough to let you do that. You see, I have done much research on the human anatomy, and not one book I read told me that the proportions of the female breasts were not symmetrical," Da'an said in an intrigued tone, while re-buttoning her blouse. "I especially did not expect that to be the case with an Espelon either. Seeing as we are made of energy, you'd think there'd be an equal distribution of that within each breast."

"Well, you know…the same principle might be the same for the rest of your body," Link said. His voice sounded cooler and more suave with each passing second that he spoke. "Maybe we should conduct a more…thorough exam some time…like late at night…when the kid's asleep."

Da'an gave him a sarcastic grin. "You enjoyed every moment of that, didn't you?"

"No…No…of course not," Link said nervously. "I mean…I didn't _not_ not enjoy it, I—Yeah, babe. I was lovin' every minute of it," he finally had to admit.

"Experiments are meant to intrigue the mind, Rembrandt, not stimulate it."

"Well…I don't know what to tell you," Link said. "Apparently I subconsciously missed that note. I believe that is called a Freudian slip, aptly named after history's favorite psychiatrist."

"More like popular culture's favorite psychiatrist," Da'an corrected.

"Well enough of these awkward human-alien moments," Link said. "Let's buy some clothes." He opened the door to show her out, and followed her to the group that was waiting anxiously to figure out what had gone on that was juicy enough to leave Tay'jay and Liam in total shock.

When nothing was said for at least a minute, Auger ended the awkward moment and led the group out the door.

"You are wrong to do that to two fine, strapping men, in every sense of the word," Tay'jay whispered sharply to Da'an.

"Yeah…but it was funny," Da'an snickered.

* * *

After they parted ways, Link drove Liam, Auger, Da'an, and Ariel to a local outlet mall. The moment Auger got out of the car, he felt like he was going to faint.

"My…God," he exclaimed in fear. "The Gap, American…Eagle….Banana Republic! This is a nightmare!"

"Well under normal circumstances, I'd be an elitist like you and buy only the weirdest and most expensive attire, but who would pay for it. You?" Link asked wittily.

"You could at least get the girl some clothes with good taste," Auger said.

"See why I didn't want him buying clothes for Ariel?" Da'an asked Link.

"Yes, I do," Link said completely ignoring Auger's panic attack. He bent to Ariel's level and placed his hands on her bare shoulders. "So little sprout, pick whichever store you wanna go in first."

"There are so many of them," Ariel said in awe. "Which one should I choose?"

"Just pick one," Liam said. "Just point and say 'there.' It doesn't have to make sense."

"Okay," Ariel said. She closed her eyes and pointed to the Tommy Hilfiger outlet. "There!"

"Good choice," Link said. "Let's go."

Link and Liam spent about two hours watching Ariel and Da'an walk in and out of the fitting room with several different outfits in from several different stores. When it was all said and done, Ariel had about three bags of clothing and two bags of shoes from five different stores.

"Are you sure we are not being too excessive?" Da'an asked Link as they walked to the ice cream parlor.

"Hey, Liam volunteered to pay for the bag of shoes he's carrying. I didn't force him," Link said pointing back to Liam, who was walking with a bag of shoes in one hand and Ariel's hand in the other. "And Auger wanted to pay for all the Ralph Lauren stuff. I don't get why he likes Ralph Lauren but not Hilfiger."

"Ralph Lauren is a designer of extremes. On one side, you have the classy and formal look, and on the other side, you have the outrageous and flamboyant look," Da'an said. She turned back to observe Auger's clothing again. "One guess on which side Auger favors."

"Implying that Auger is either the worst closet case that I have ever seen, or the most secure man with his sexuality that I have ever met to walk around in the junk he wears," Link said. "But sexuality aside, you gotta admit, the man knows his colors. He picked some of the weirdest shirts and skirts from that store and still managed to have her coming out looking good. Who woulda thought that kid looked good in yellow and lime green?"

Da'an shrugged. "Well, if you are all right with all of this I will not complain."

"Hey, it's not like she's never gonna use all of this. She'll be that same size for about two or three more years, right?" Link said.

"True. I guess growing in sudden spurts does have its advantages," Da'an said. "Yet the Taelon side of me feels a little guilty about all of this. Do you know how many axioms I have broken today by just being a part of this shopping spree?"

"Why? It's not your fault your former species is a bunch of cheapskates," Link said.

Da'an gasped, trying to prevent herself from laughing. "They are not cheapskates! How can they be cheapskates if they don't use money?"

"Let me think. Your former species used to live entirely off of Mother Nature and not material things—which translates into garage sale junk. Then, instead of using currency, the closest they every came to was bartering by 'giving away' faulty technology in exchange for favors condoned by the leaders of the receivers—translation: con-artistry. Finally, in the rest of the universe where other species still use currency like us, they bum off the resources of other species by manipulating them into believing they're some benevolent helpless people just looking for a home—translation: freeloading. The Taelons are cheapskates."

"I cannot believe you!" Da'an cried hitting him with her bag. "You are a terrible man."

"Hey. I'm right. All the Taelons are is freeloading cheapskates and con artists. And then they have the audacity to discount us as a bunch of liars and cheats. Well, look at them. They give us technology that appears to help us better our lives. Then, they use it to steal our memories, alter our bodies, and sacrifice human lives in the name of war against another species we barely know anything about."

"Is there a point to all this Taelon-bashing?"

"The point is that you shouldn't feel so ethically attached to a bunch of gold-digging hypocrites. They may not be digging for cash or jewelry, but they're digging for something that is of immense value to them: knowledge and the minds to fuel them. Why do you think the Commonality's so powerful? It's fueled by minds. Minds are the Taelons' gold, and they steal it from other people to suit their own initiatives."

"So in that sense, am I a gold-digger?"

"No. You use knowledge as a means to do good, not evil. You use it as a tool of service not power. Besides, if that other cheapskate Urick actually paid you like he's paying Liam and Renee and didn't bum off that whole 'Taelons don't use money' BS, you'd be able to and willing to pitch in for all of this."

"That's right. I would."

"And you shouldn't have any qualms about doing it either," Link said opening the door to the ice cream parlor for her and the others.

"I don't," Da'an said. "Well…not anymore, I don't."

"Good. That's settled," Link said closing the door.

"Man, only Link could turn something purely moral into that," Liam whispered to Auger. Both started paying attention to the conversation the moment Link mention the words "Taelons" and cheapskates" in the same sentence.

"I don't know about that," Auger said. "You're pretty good at doing it too."

"All right, Ariel," Da'an said taking her up to the different ice creams. "Now you get to choose which flavor you want."

Ariel scanned the thirty-five different flavors. "I don't know. I can't remember what the names of the ice creams I like are."

"Excuse me," Link said to the teenager behind the counter. "Give her the chocolate chip cookie dough sample."

"Yes, sir," the man said. He scooped out a tiny spoonful of the ice cream and was sure to capture some of the cookie dough with it too. Then, he let Ariel try it.

She loved it. Then, Link asked him to do the same with the banana flavor and the strawberry flavor. She liked all of them. Therefore, Link ordered a banana split with all one scoop of all three flavors. After paying the man, the three returned to Liam and Auger with two spoons and several napkins.

"Hey, where's our ice cream?" Auger asked.

"I'm sorry, did you two also have growth spurts without me knowing it?" Link retorted. "You're grown men, dammit. Buy your own."

Auger grumbled and ordered his own. Liam just chuckled and followed.

Ariel tried to hand her spoon to Da'an. "Don't you want some, mommy?"

"This is your day, Ariel. I want you to enjoy it," Da'an said nervously looking at the crowd.

"Okay!" Ariel said happily and dug into the treat.

"Wow. Look at how quick she was to get that 'no' outta you. Just ready to dive in guiltlessly, huh?" Link teased. "You know, gluttony is a sin."

"Leave her alone," Da'an said playfully. "At least she asked. Most children would not ask."

An older woman with her granddaughter about Ariel's size passed the three.

"Well aren't you three just the sweetest little family," she complimented. "And how old is the little girl?"

"Um…five," Da'an lied. "She just turned five."

"Well, happy birthday, young lady," the grandmother said to Ariel.

"Thank you," Ariel said nervously, but she didn't let that distract her from finishing off the banana split.

"Well, she is just a darling little girl, and with parents who are just as beautiful," she said.

"Thank you kindly, ma'am," Link said imitating a cowboy.

"I never meant to pry, it's just that I saw you two walking in and I said to myself, 'This is a couple that's going to last forever.' Your marriage is going to work," the grandmother said. "I can tell just by looking at you."

"Grandma, come on!" the little girl whined.

"Oh all right dear," the grandmother said. "Enjoy your special day, all of you."

"Yeah, see you later," Link said as they walked away.

"Aw, you three look so cute together," Liam said in a puppy dog voice.

"Oh be quiet," Da'an said rolling her eyes.

"Don't be ashamed," Auger teased, grabbing Link's cheek and squeezing it.

"What the heck are you doing!" Link cried fighting off the computer nerd.

"Come on, you two are it for each other," Liam said, sitting at the table.

"Have you given her a ring yet, Link?" Auger asked.

"Yeah," Liam said. He got close to Da'an and whispered, "You know, Da'an, I've always wanted to see you in a wedding dress."

"That is NOT going to happen, bub!" Da'an cried.

"Come on Link," Auger taunted. "The sooner you marry her, the sooner I can get your bachelor party ready."

"Mommy, why are Mr. Liam and Mr. Auger acting stupid?" Ariel asked Da'an.

"That is a very good question, honey," Da'an said.

Auger's global rang before he could retort, not that he found the opinion of a one-year-old hybrid offensive in any way. "Yello?"

"Hey, Auger," Street said through the global. "Where are you?"

"Food court at the outlet mall with little Ariel. I tell ya, Street, the girl's growing like a weed," Auger said winking. "Oh, by the way, Link proposed to Da'an in front of a fundamentalist Christian grandmother and her grandchild today."

"Really?" Street asked excitedly.

"NO!" Da'an, Link, and Ariel yelled together.

"Wait, why did Ariel yell it too?" Liam whispered to himself.

"Well, I hate to cut the engagement party short," Street said, "but we need you back here. One of the sensors in the Andes Mountains is going haywire, and Hubble wants you to look at it—seeing as it's your new global monitoring system and all."

"Good thing he asked you to call me," Auger said. "I'll be there in about fifteen minutes."

"See ya there."

"What's going on?" Da'an asked.

"Aw, mud butt's asking for me," Auger said. "Sounds like one of the monitoring satellites in the Andes blew a fuse and he wants me to fix it."

Da'an snickered. Liam and Link didn't get it.

"Are you all right getting there from here?" Link asked him.

"Don't worry about me. If I can find my way around Venice, I can definitely work my way around greater DC."

"Well good luck," Liam said. "Call us if you need anything."

"Oh and call me if you're looking for an engagement ring, Link," Auger teased.

"You die now!" Link cried leaping up from his seat, but Da'an restrained him.

"Geez, I never know you could get so tense over a wedding ring," Liam teased.

Da'an and Link buried their heads on the table.

"You know what?" Link asked Liam, trying with all his might to keep himself from cursing in front of Ariel. "I…hate you."


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Along the Watchtower

Auger met Street at the ANA headquarters.

"So Auger the family man, huh?" Street teased.

"Oh, quit it," Auger said. "I only hang out with Ariel because she reminds me of Lili."

"I think it's cute," Street said. "Well, anyway, our surveillance team out there reported the incident about an hour ago. They said they don't think it's a Taelon-based infiltration. They think it's local."

"Which part of the Andes are we talking about? Central or Southern?"

"Southern," Street said following him into the elevator. "In Chile."

"Did they try pointing the dish to another ANA satellite?"

"Yeah, and they still got the same interference. That's why they think it's local," Street said.

"Well, is it busted or is there just static?"

"We couldn't tell. Sometimes it's static and sometimes the whole signal just dies out on us."

"But you don't know what the problem is?"

"They can't find it, no," Street replied.

"Well, if I they can't find the problem, I'll have to," Auger said, not in the mood to portal all the way to the mountains in Chile.

"Are you serious?" Street asked following him out as the elevator doors opened.

"You got any better ideas?" Auger asked. "If I don't know the problem, I can't fix it. And if they can't tell me the problem, I've gotta find it myself."

"Well, do you want me to go with you?"

"No, just keep in touch and monitor the rest of the system."

"Hubble's not gonna like sending you all the way out there alone."

"I won't be alone. The crew's still out there. And the Taelons don't know about it, so it's not like we've got to worry about any volunteer raids or anything. It's probably just a glitch in the programming. It always happens with a new system. Cripes, when satellite TV got started, all it took was a bunch of clouds over your house and the picture would go out. Trust me, you've got nothing to worry about."

"I'm not worried. I just know how you are with other people touching your babies."

"You know me too well."

"That's why whenever you have a problem, you come to me. And that's also why whenever I need to find you, you're always in some kind of trouble. Just be careful anyway, and try not to piss off the crew. It gets kind of lonely up there."

Auger sighed. "Hubble doesn't pay me enough for this."

"Could be worse. You could Da'an. She doesn't get paid at all."

"Neither do you for that matter."

"True, but then I legally own Flat Planet now. I make my own money."

"Don't let that go to your head, or I'll have to conduct a hostile takeover."

"I'd just like to see you try."

"I can't believe this. A teenager's giving me the Bill Gates treatment."

"This teenager's been an emancipated minor ever since she was eleven and is currently three months away from turning twenty. I guess age doesn't count for much."

Auger lightly punched her arm and she did the same. Hubble shook his head when he saw them walk in the room. He had been listening to their conversation ever since they got off the elevator.

* * *

Tate had been scarfing down a bagel in a local coffee house when Sandoval called him to the Mothership. Apparently Zo'or and T'than had asked for their presence. When Sandoval met him on the bridge, he was wiping crumbs off his suit.

"Straighten your tie," Sandoval grumbled.

"You know boss, it's the little things in life you should appreciate. One of these days, I'm gonna introduce you to a pumpkin bagel with strawberry cream cheese. The best damn snack you'll ever have," Tate said.

"I'll pass thank you," Sandoval said.

Deladier walked towards them and then blazed past them with her jet-black hair streaking across Tate's face.

"I hope you didn't get any crumbs in my hair," she said haughtily checking the full thickness of it to be sure in a vanity mirror.

"Why are you here?" Sandoval asked.

"Because you're not the only teacher's pet anymore," Deladier retorted. "Zo'or requested my presence."

"More like T'than did," Tate mumbled to himself.

"I heard that fat man," Deladier said haughtily. "You know, gluttony is a sin."

"So is vanity, you damn Prima Donna," Sandoval scoffed.

"Keep talking snake," Deladier said. "Or better yet, why don't you just crawl back into your dark hole with the dead rats where you belong?"

They stopped taunting each other when Zo'or and T'than entered the bridge and shut all the doors.

"Our informant has alerted us to the presence of a communications station in the Andes Mountains in Chile," T'than said, activating a map to pinpoint the location. "Our technician is heading out there as we speak."

"We wish for you to send a team down there to capture him," Zo'or said. "His knowledge of this new spy system could be of some use to us."

"Let me guess. You want him to create a separate spy program to keep an eye on the priests?" Deladier asked.

"You are so intuitive," Zo'or said sarcastically.

"We also want him to create a worm within the system that will enable us to monitor this new Atlantic National Alliance more closely. We believe this may lead us closer to those missing Taelons," T'than said.

"And Da'an," Deladier added.

"Da'an is dead, Lydia," Sandoval said.

"Yeah?" Tate asked skeptically. "Well, if Da'an's really dead, then I'm a horse's ass."

"Well, then he _must_ be dead," Sandoval mumbled.

"You are a fool if you believe Da'an is truly gone," Deladier said. "Why else did all those Taelons leave? Da'an influenced them. Volunteers who were on the Moonbase told me one of the voices emitting from the loudspeaker sounded an awful lot like Da'an's. And plus—"

"Are you three finished?" Zo'or snapped.

They faced Zo'or and T'than.

"We apologize sir," Deladier said. "It is not our place to make speculation."

"Indeed," T'than said. "Send the team to disable the station. Then, bring Mr. Deveraux to us. Alive."

"Yes, sir," the three said. After T'than re-opened the corridors, he dismissed them.

"I am concerned about their speculations about Da'an," T'than said.

"Rumors have been circulating throughout the Mothership of Da'an's fate," Zo'or said. "As long as they remain rumors and not facts, we will not have a problem controlling them."

"And what if they become facts?" T'than asked. "There is only so much we can do to keep the information from spreading throughout the Commonality."

"We need more power to destroy the priests," Zo'or said. "Dividing the Commonality will weaken them severely, but not enough for us to depose them. We need the upper hand. I believe the informant's information about that station's activities will prove fruitful."

"Do you truly believe that a relic from Ma'el's time on Earth is the cause of the interference? After all, Ma'el's ship was destroyed."

"I will not take this lightly. Too much relating to Ma'el has occurred on that continent for me to simply ignore this opportunity. Ma'el's relics have been useful to us in the past. There is no reason to believe a simple recon mission in that area to ascertain the cause of those signals will prove to be nothing more than natural phenomena."

* * *

"Those two are up to something," Deladier told Sandoval.

"As much as I hate to agree with you, I do," Sandoval said. "Something else is at that station. Something more important than just one man."

"Maybe we should check it out ourselves," Deladier suggested.

"I am not going to fall victim to a scheme of their doing," Sandoval said. "Send Tate."

An ominous feeling surfaced in Tate as the two agents glared at him with sly smiles.

* * *

The early the next morning, Link and Da'an were called to the ANA headquarters by Hubble and Renee. Tay'jay and Liam were waiting for them. To Hubble's dismay, a very sleepy Ariel was with them.

"What the hell happened to her?" Hubble asked.

"She had a growth spurt," Da'an said. "Last time I checked, children still do that."

"Well, what is she doing here?" he asked, still not believing what he was seeing.

"Uh, Mr. Urick, you ever try finding a reasonable baby-sitter at five AM?" Link asked back.

"Do not worry your pretty little head," Da'an said. "It's not like she's feeling entirely hyper-active at this time in the morning."

"I'd still prefer you take her down to Mi'en or…someone," Hubble grumbled.

"I'll take her," Tay'jay said, and as he passed Hubble he added. "Mud butt."

Tay'jay and Da'an both snickered as he carried Ariel out of the communications station.

"One of these days, Da'an…" Hubble said threateningly.

"So what is the problem?" Da'an interrupted.

"We aren't entirely sure," Renee said. "Auger said that he's scoped that station from top to bottom and there's nothing wrong."

"And they're still getting interference," Liam said. "They think that some kind of radiation emitting off the mountain is screwing with the signal."

"Radiation under a mountain? You've gotta be kidding me," Link said.

"Oh, trust me, it's no joke!" a faint voice said on the radio.

"We kept his channel open in fear that we might lose them again," an operator explained.

"Auger, have you been able to isolate exactly where this radiation is coming from?" Da'an asked him.

"We tried running a scan, but the signal keeps messing up. It never pinpoints the origin in the same place twice. It's almost like it's all around us," Auger said through the static.

"They sent us a spectral analysis of the radiation," Renee said bringing it up on the computer.

"You mean they can see it?" Da'an asked.

"Occasionally yes," Renee said. "Little bits of light rise over the horizon. You should look at this."

Da'an walked over to the station beside her.

"Now, compare this with the spectral analysis of the radiation emitting from Ma'el's ship," Renee said. She pulled up that sample and compared the two by pinpointing all the key troughs and crests. "They're a perfect match."

"But Ma'el's ship was destroyed," Da'an said. "You and Liam destroyed it yourselves. I saw it happen."

"Oh, we know," Liam said. "That's why we needed you to see this. We think something else that belongs to Ma'el is down there inside the mountain. The activity going on with the station must have activated it somehow."

"If we have discovered this, there is no reason to think Zo'or and the priests have not as well," Da'an said. "Auger, have you noticed any other activity on the mountain, such as passing ships or surveillance technology?"

"No, nothing like that," Auger's voice replied.

"Well, fortify the station and beware of any incoming vehicles that may be hostile," Hubble said. "We'll get back to you as soon as we can."

"All right, but I really think that I should be heading back—"

The sound of an explosion and frantic voices interrupted Auger.

"What the hell's going on out there?" Liam asked. "Auger, what's your status?"

"Revise that last report!" Auger cried. "We have incoming! We're being attacked!"

"Auger, evacuate the station!" Renee yelled. "I repeat! Evacuate the station!"

"Are you insane?" Hubble cried. "If they leave that station, there will be no one to stop the Synod from taking over that mountain."

"You can't possibly expect a group of technicians to battle an entire army!" Renee argued. "Our main priority to protecting the lives of those men!"

"Hey, shut up!" Link shouted.

"Say again, Auger," Liam said into the radio. "I couldn't hear you."

"We're lo…the…" the signal kept bouncing between Auger's voice and static. "The portal's…destroyed!"

"Look out!" a faint voice cried.

The last of the transmission was filled with the screams and shouting of the men until it was lost completely.

"No! Auger!" Renee cried.

"I'm going out there," Liam said.

"I'm going with you," Renee said.

"Wait! It's darker than outer space out there. We don't know their status," Hubble objected. "We need you two here. I can't afford to lose all three of you."

"'All three?'" Da'an asked. "I just love how you completely discount the other poor bastards up there."

"You know, you remind me way too much of my superiors," Link said harshly. "They were the same fat cat scumbags who were too busy stuffing their faces with all the glory and oil in Iraq while we were dying out in the middle of God's nowhere." He turned to face Renee and Liam. "You two be careful out there."

They nodded and rushed down to the underground shuttle bay.

* * *

The ceiling had caved in on the station, exposing it to the elements. Auger pushed the debris off his back and rose to assess the damage. There were several bodies around him, most of them burnt to death from the attack. Auger examined them anyway to check for any living. He was the only one alive. When he made it outside the station and into the elements of the dry and cold mountain he took a better look at himself. His glasses had been smashed leaving a cut across the top of his nose. He also had several bruises on his back and shoulders, and there were several tiny lacerations on his hands and forearms. He realized the satellite had been completely destroyed, but he could not see any shuttles with volunteers. Maybe they had left assuming everyone was dead and had landed somewhere more stable. He rushed back inside to the medical room that had also had its share of damage. He grabbed the last two first aid kits left and filled one of them with iodine, antibiotics and three syringes.

On his way out he ran into a pudgy white man in a suit.

"Hello there, Mr. Devereaux," he told Auger. Then, he punched Auger right in the cheek.

Two volunteers from behind pulled him up to face the man.

"Sorry to have to do this to you, but my boss needs to see you immediately," he said.

"Yeah, I know how impatient Taelons can be sometimes," Auger said sarcastically.

"You've got a good mouth on you," the man said. "I'm sure they're gonna love you up there."

They took him and the first aid kits to a nearby shuttle.

"You guys must really be high on yourselves to just send one shuttle," Auger said, but the whole time he was eyeing the pistol in the man in the suit's pocket.

"We figured a bunch of techno-junkies in the middle of the Andes wouldn't put up much of a fight," he said.

"I'll bet you've never picked a fair fight in your life," Auger said quickly. Then, he jabbed the two volunteers with his foot on their knees and grabbed the man's gun. Before the other volunteers could fire, he grabbed the man and the kits and ran down the mountain. The volunteers were too afraid of hitting the man that no one them fired. But they were good enough to chase them.

"You do know this is completely pointless," he told Auger. "Two more hours in this cold weather and you'll die from exposure."

"Yeah, but that wouldn't go too well with your bosses now, would it?" Auger said. He wrestled the man down. "Looks like we've both got some bad choices to make. I'll leave you here to sit and think about what you've done."

Then, he ran down the mountain with the two kits.

The volunteers found Tate dusting the dirt off his suit. He took a gun provided by one of the volunteers and followed Auger down the mountain. Several minutes later there loomed the sound of gunfire. The battle went on for several more minutes before a winding sound silenced the shooting followed by a huge explosion.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Search and Rescue

"You don't really think anything's happened to Auger, do you?" Street asked Da'an.

The minutes had gone by like hours while they waited for Liam and Renee's report.

"I do not know. But I am sure that he will be all right," Da'an said.

"Yeah if anyone can get himself out of jam, it's that man," Tay'jay said. "He's probably kicking back with Liam and Renee watching those volunteers make total jackasses out of themselves right now."

"What about the others?" Mi'en asked. "There had to be at least fifteen other humans up there."

"They're the bravest souls I've ever known," Tay'jay said making a mock salute.

Da'an scoffed at her brother's mockery.

"Well, we've gotta be a tad realistic here," Tay'jay said lying back on a chair and relaxing his feet on a control console. "Even Rambo couldn't have lasted against a heavily fortified shuttle with as light arms as those poor bastards had. Plus it's probably pitch black up there right now and freezing cold."

"Way to go with your reassuring sentiments there, Tay'jay Amo'qui," Link said sarcastically. "Remind me never to have you make my eulogy."

"Why would I need to do that when I can simply shove it up your ass?" Tay'jay shot back.

"Will you two stop it? Now is not the time for this!" Da'an said motioning toward the saddened and distressed Street.

Mi'en shook her head in disgust while Tay'jay made a dirty face at Link.

Da'an's global was sitting on another control console when it rang. Street rushed up and grabbed it before Da'an could even react to the sound.

"Talk to me," Street said frantically.

The look on Liam's face was solemn. "Are the other guys' listening?"

"Yeah, we all are," Street said. "Where's Auger?"

"This place has seen a lot of carnage," Liam said. "The satellite's totaled and one whole side of the station's collapsed on itself."

"Oh God," Street said to herself.

"There's no sign of Auger," Renee said. "But there are a lot of bodies. Most of them are burnt beyond recognition."

"But you haven't found Auger's yet," Street said quickly. "I mean he could still be alive, right?"

"Yeah, Street but from the looks of things, it's…well, it's highly unlikely," Renee said.

"We may need to face some unpleasant facts people," Liam said gravely. "We could be looking at a total loss here. Auger is most likely dead."

Street dropped the global and ran out of the room. Da'an stopped the global from hitting the floor with her powers and brought it into her hands.

"I'm really sorry, you guys," Renee said.

"There's nothing more you two can do out there," Hubble said. "Get back here and give us a full report."

"We're on our way," Liam said. "Is Street gonna be okay?"

"Maybe you should go talk to her," Hubble told Da'an.

"No. Give her some time alone," Da'an said.

* * *

A female Espelon and a female human were sitting in the Mothership's shuttle bay disguised as volunteers on perimeter duty. The Indian volunteer had passed her skin pigmentation and hair color on to the Espelon and was making conversation with her by teaching her some of the language. While they traded languages and heritages, a team of medics suddenly rushed to the shuttle and pulled out five burnt individuals including a white heavily built man in ragged suit.

"Hey, Mi'lu," the human said in surprise. "Isn't that Agent Tate?"

"Yipes," the Espelon said with the same expression.

"Those poor fools must have run into something big," the human said. "We had better report to headquarters."

"Let's get a better look at what we're dealing with first," the Espelon suggested, and they followed the medical crew to the sick bay.

"What do you mean 'you don't know what happened?'" Zo'or demanded while poor Tate was being cleaned and bandaged in the medical wing. "That one little man could not have done this to all of you."

"It wasn't just him, sir," Tate said desperately. He cried out in pain as the _lu'yoi_ applied a Taelon formula to help prevent his burns from leaving scars. "It was…It was a weapon! A weapon of huge power!"

"What weapon?" T'than asked intrigued by this new information.

"We tried to bring Devereaux back to the shuttle when he took off with my gun and ran down the mountain," Tate explained whimpering as his chest and arms were bandaged. "The whole squad was after him, but it was so dark, and then he started shooting at us."

"Leave it to Tate to forget to order the volunteers to bring night vision goggles," the human whispered to the Espelon.

"We fired back, and…and then this huge beam of light came out from nowhere and took out one whole side of the mountain! It was so bright and powerful that it burned. We were…we were lucky. We didn't get the full brunt of the blast. We barely made it to the shuttle. We…had to autopilot it back here."

It was around this time that the sedatives the _lu'yoi_ had given Tate finally kicked in and knocked him out cold.

"Perfect timing," T'than noted. "I could not stand that man's rambling a second longer."

"But this new development in the Andes intrigues me," Zo'or said.

"I am intrigued as well," T'than agreed. "A beam powerful enough to take out a whole mountain would prove an excellent weapon to add to our arsenal."

"We have plenty of weapons capable of that much damage right here," Zo'or said. "I am not certain that this beam was meant to hurt anyone. From what Mr. Tate describes, this beam came from inside the mountain. It must have been meant to provide an opening."

"To what?" T'than asked.

"That is for more of out implants to find out," Zo'or said. "Sandoval! Deladier!"

The two stood up straight in response.

"Go to the Andes Mountains with a reconnaissance team and uncover the source of this power surge," Zo'or said. "Report to us in six hours regardless of what you find."

"You don't think it would be better to find out who could create such a powerful weapon and why before we do anything stupid?" Deladier asked.

"If we were not aware of that information, we probably would," Zo'or said simply.

"Or if we cared," T'than added. "Now go, and do not question our orders again."

"I am sorry sir. It won't happen again," Deladier said with a humble bow. She turned to Sandoval. "Let's move."

"Halt," Zo'or stopped. "I require a word with you Sandoval. T'than, escort Agent Deladier to the weapons hold. We will be there shortly."

"Of course," T'than said, but as he left with Deladier, he whispered to her, "I require a short word with you as well."

* * *

Liam and Renee had returned to the building as they were so ordered and gave Hubble a full report. The following day, Street still had not fully recovered from the loss of her friend, but she pulled herself together and returned to the communications room where the two spies were with Hubble, Da'an and Liam. Link and Renee were monitoring the rest of the team while Tay'jay and Mi'en were watching Ariel, who had just awakened and had requested to see Da'an and Link.

"Are you certain they came from the Andes?" Da'an asked them.

"As sure as I'm standing in front of you right now," the human female told them. "It was Agent Tate and five other volunteers. God knows how they got that shuttle back to the Mothership because they were half-dead. From what Tate was saying they were the only ones that made it."

"They said some kind of power surge blew off one whole side of the mountain," the Espelon added.

"That is strange," Da'an said. "Ma'el brought no weapon that powerful to Earth with him."

"Even if he did, Ma'el doesn't make stuff just to blow people up," Tay'jay said. "It's not his style."

"Hey! Listen to this!" Link cried.

Another ANA spy just sent a message to them on a secure frequency. "I can't stay on for long, but Agent Sandoval and Agent Deladier just left with a recon team for somewhere in the Andes Mountains and they're not wasting time. That's all I can say." Link replayed the message one more time for anyone who did not hear it.

"Renee, Liam, can you follow them without them seeing you?" Hubble asked.

"No!" Da'an objected. "I am going, and I am going alone."

"What?" Hubble cried. "You can't go out there by yourself. You'll get killed."

"I can last longer in those conditions than Renee and Liam, and, given my psychic abilities, I am better able to hide myself from the reconnaissance team."

"She can also take a skrill blast better than any human," the Espelon added.

Hubble glared at her.

"Well, I'm just saying is all!" the Espelon said innocently.

"If Sandoval is with them, he is going to recognize Liam and Renee the moment he spots them," Da'an said. "Sending them will compromise their identity with Zo'or and the Synod."

"Oh, no you don't!" Tay'jay objected. "You just wanna go there and see if there's something that belongs to Ma'el."

"Well, maybe they're after Auger," Street suggested with a new hope in her voice. "Maybe he's still alive."

"We can only hope," Hubble said. "But if Sandoval and Deladier get to him, he won't last long."

"Not to mention that he's on a mountain that's gonna be dropping to at most ten degrees in about two hours," Tay'jay added. "He already survived one cold spell, but can he survive another? Rated R for partial nudity."

The Espelon snickered, but the human female nudged her shoulder.

"Could you stay out of this?" Hubble asked him in an irritated voice.

"If Auger is still alive, I can retrieve him and send him back here," Da'an said. "If there is something there, however, we need to send our own team to stop Deladier and Sandoval. I can keep them busy until you arrive."

"Why do you have to do it alone?" Link asked.

"Because if we send too many people, we risk the chance of detection," Da'an said.

"I still don't see why at least I can't go with you," Tay'jay said. "I'm better at combat than you, and I'm psychic too."

"I could come too," Mi'en said. "I can fly Auger and any other survivors out of there."

"They're right," Hubble said to Da'an. Then, he faced Tay'jay and Mi'en. "Go with her."

"Mr. Urick—"

"You should be happy I'm even letting _you_ go out there," Hubble interrupted Da'an. "I've done just as much to keep your affiliation with us safe as I've done with Renee and Liam. Besides, you're nowhere near skilled enough handle two implants and a whole squad of volunteers."

"Don't verbally assault him too badly Da'an," Tay'jay said. "He's right after all."

"Do you come with an off switch, or is that just wishful thinking on my part?" Mi'en asked Tay'jay. "Just because Da'an doesn't battle in the same way that you do does not mean that she is incapable of defending herself. She took on the high priest twice and survived, and she was able to deal with some of the worst Jaridian scum in the galaxy to find you. I think she deserves a little bit of credit."

"But all the same, it's better to be safe than sorry," Link said. "Take TJ and Mi'en, Da'an."

"Fine," Da'an said reluctantly. She whispered something to Ariel and kissed her.

"Okay, ma'am. I love you."

She whispered something else in Taelon and told Tay'jay and Mi'en to follow her.

"Did she just call Da'an 'ma'am'?" Street asked Link.

"It's a Lili issue. I'll tell you later," Link said. He picked up Ariel. "Come on, sprout. Let's get something to eat."

"I'll go with you," Street said.

"She's up to something," Renee whispered to Liam after Link, Ariel, and Street left for the cafeteria. "Do you think this has anything to do with yesterday when they were all gathered at Link's apartment?"

"I know she wants to get to that site before anyone else," Liam said. "But why? What does she think she's going to find?"

"Better yet, what isn't she telling us?" Renee asked suspiciously.

* * *

Auger had been caught in the blast just like Tate and the volunteers, but it hadn't so much as scratched him. Apparently, there had been two beams that broke through: a transportation beam and a powerful destructive beam that was used to break through the surface. Upon his recovery, he found himself several feet inside the mountain. There was a series of caverns lit up by glowing blue cables. He found himself at the center of a giant stone circle with two rings, revealing a crystal surface underneath. That was how he had figured out there had been two beams instead of one. He also guessed that there were other beams like this punching holes throughout the mountain. The radiation emitting from these beams must have been what was scrambling the communications satellite and must have also been the source of those blue lights he and the crew kept seeing. It had been hours since the explosive force of the beams busted through the surface of the mountains and brought him here. Nothing else had happened. He imagined that these beams were only designed to work once. He had been using the first aid kit to dress his wounds. When he had finished that, he decided to wait for someone to find him. When he decided no one was coming, he got up to explore this labyrinth he had stumbled upon.

There were markings on the walls of alien symbols, but without any knowledge of the Taelon language, there was no way he could determine their meaning.

"It's times like this that I wish the Taelons were here," Auger said to himself. "Eh, better not push my luck. I might be eating my words any minute."

He guessed that Ma'el had created this maze, but he wondered how the Taelon had found all the energy to power up this place. There must have been a huge power source somewhere in the mountain. He considered that following the cables would get him there, but there were so many paths with cables lighting the way. Which one was the best to take?

As he was walking and wondering, he noticed one of the markings glowing blue. He moved towards it to find that it was actually a hole. As he was looking inside, the ground gave way beneath his feet. Before he could fall through the whole, he grabbed the edge of the hole and attempted to push himself up. One of his first aid kits fell on to a bed of spikes at the bottom of the hole. When Auger saw this, he was all the more motivated to push himself up. His shoulders tightened as he struggled to climb out, but he managed to get to safety. Upon examining his hands, he found that some of the band-aids he had applied had torn off and his left palm had been scraped. He opened the leftover first aid kit and replaced the band-aids on his hand with a thick white bandage. Then, he moved on.

_I should have brought some food with me too,_ he thought to himself. _I'm starving._

Suddenly, Auger wondered why that thought came to his mind before anything else. _I must still be in shock from what happened. There's some good news!_

He continued forward into the long cavern. Then, he wondered why he had chosen this particular cavern. Maybe it just looked the shortest. Maybe, it looked the widest or the best lit. Maybe some divine force was guiding him along this path in order to show him something wonderful, something ethereal, something that he may never see again in a thousand years!

_Geez! Lighten up, Auger! I guess when you've got nothing else to think about… God, I'm hungry!_

* * *

Sandoval and Deladier's shuttle landed at the ruined station. Deladier could see from the window the destruction their first squad had wrought upon the station. "Wow. It's a wonder that little coward even survived the bombardment."

"Well, I wouldn't worry too much," Sandoval said. "If that blast did what it did to Tate and the survivors, there's no way he survived that."

"Unfortunate for our bosses," Deladier said.

"They never gave a damn about that man," Sandoval scoffed, "and you know it. They want what caused the explosion."

"Did you turn a deaf ear back on the Mothership? That's just what we want the ANA to think we're after. It's something else they're after—something more important than any weapon. I'll bet it's got something to do with Ma'el," Deladier said. "This whole continent seems to have his name written all over it."

"Whatever it is our masters are after, we've got to get to it first," Sandoval said. "This Atlantic National Alliance is bound to send agents to investigate this whole site."

"Oh please, they're probably too busy making funeral arrangements for those fools that died in the attack to worry about this," Deladier said. "We'll have this whole area contained before they know we were here."

They led the squad out of the shuttle and into the dry, rocky terrain of the mountain.

"It's freezing out here," Sandoval said, putting on the winter coat he'd brought with him. "It'll probably drop well below freezing come nightfall. Even if Devereaux survived, he won't last the night."

"Can we stop talking about that doomed bastard? I never even gave a damn about him in the first place," Deladier said putting on a sweater over her uniform.

"Is that real cashmere?" Sandoval asked Deladier.

"Some of the finest ever made," Delaider said, pulling out a hat to cover her ears. "Oh, and you'll love this. It's real mink."

"Where did you get the money for that?" Sandoval asked.

"Where do you get the money for all those Armani suits you always wear for your boss—as if he cared?" Deladier asked back. "What do you want from me? Fur's a rare commodity nowadays. If I have it, it's my right to sport it."

"Even in the Andes Mountains?" Sandoval asked. "This one of the rockiest terrains in the world, with freezing cold temperatures in the middle of God's nowhere."

"You're right," Deladier said, pretending to care. "I have a cashmere scarf that matches this. I totally should've brought that."

"You're hopeless," Sandoval scoffed.

"Hopeless with money," Deladier said haughtily.

"From whom? What, are you courting Donald Trump?" Sandoval asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Deladier asked back. "Let's just say that if he gets what he wants, you'll be seeing a hell of a lot more of these cashmere sweaters. Oh, and some prada boots would do just nicely right about now. I wonder if they make a hiking boot."

Sandoval probably would have come back with a witty retort had they not come to a huge charred area surrounding a two-meter gap in the mountain. Sandoval and Deladier told their squad to stay back and gazed deep into the hole. Deladier ordered one of the volunteers to give her a glow stick. She lit it and threw it down.

"It's a pretty clean cut," Sandoval said. "A Taelon weapon is the only thing that could've done this."

Deladier watched the glow stick disappear into the darkness. "How deep does this go?"

"Too deep for my taste," Sandoval said. "Give me one of those portable launchers."

One of the volunteers handed him the launcher, and he fired a portable portal straight down the hole. The other volunteers instinctively set up another portal and set it to the portable's signal. Then, they portalled a small robot with a camera.

"Can you get a signal?" Deladier asked him, as he checked his global.

The camera produced a black and white image of the area. Apparently, Sandoval's implant had hit its target right on the mark. "There are a lot of caverns, and they're all lit by…cables at the tops."

"Well, as long as the probe got down there, let's check it out," Deladier said. "I…"

Sandoval paid closer attention to her words.

"…I mean _we_ must determine the source of that blast," Deladier continued.

"Fine," Sandoval said. He began barking orders at his volunteers. "You three come with us. The rest of you find out if there are anymore of these holes. They could be what that wrecked station had been detecting in its last hours. We probably won't be able to communicate, so you'll have to report your status to Zo'or and T'than yourselves. Remember, you have six hours."

"And activate those heating units when it gets too cold," Deladier added. "It'll be freezing up here in a few hours. We'd like to come back to something other than a squad of human Popsicles when we're through. We'll signal you when we've swept the whole area. If you see anyone else exploring this area, shoot them, and shoot to kill."

The volunteers nodded and spread out in pairs while Sandoval, Deladier and the three others portalled into the caverns below.

* * *

While Mi'en flew the shuttle to the location of the downed station, Tay'jay was looking up some pictures an ANA satellite had taken of the area.

"Hey, check this out," Tay'jay told Da'an. "This whole area's full of holes."

Da'an counted them. "I wouldn't call that full of holes, Tay'jay," she said. "There are only eight of them."

"Still a lot of holes," Tay'jay said sheepishly.

"There must be some kind of lab down there or something," Mi'en said.

"It would make sense for Ma'el to create a lab, but how in the galaxy did he do it all by himself?" Tay'jay asked.

"Ma'el had many followers," Da'an said. "Maybe they had a hand in this."

"But even still," Mi'en said, "not one ship in the universe could provide him with the power he utilized to create openings this huge and this clean cut in an instant. Where did he get the source?"

"Renee told me that the interdimensional core of Ma'el's ship was missing when they explored it," Da'an said. "Granted he would require more power, but that core could have been a start."

"At the same time, he could've amplified it using crystals and whatever electrical conductors he could find," Tay'jay said. "Maybe some kind of geothermal generator or something like that? It's the only other kind of power he might be able to use in a place like this."

"And based on these photographs, there has not been another instance of these blasts," Da'an said. "Maybe he only had enough power for the eight, and maybe he only had enough power to do it once."

"But why now? Why are we just detecting such a huge source of power now?" Mi'en asked.

"Ma'el must've cut it off and set it on some automatic timer to power up by itself," Tay'jay said. "As to the 'why now,' I have no clue."

The shuttle suddenly started bleeping frantically.

"Strap in," Mi'en groaned, more frustrated than frightened. "We have incoming missiles."

The firing was coming from volunteers that had set up at another nearby hole and had detected the shuttle.

Tay'jay and Da'an ducked when they felt an explosion in the back of the shuttle. Another alarm sounded.

"We've lost one of our engines!" Mi'en cried. "We're going to crash. Hold on! I will try to ease our landing as best I can."

Mi'en leveled the shuttle as best she could with the landing thrusters, and then she completely deactivated the engines. The three activated their crash bubbles as the shuttle freefell towards the rough terrain. Then, just a few seconds before landing, Mi'en activated the reverse thrusters, using them like an emergency brake. The impact jerked them forward as the shuttle skid down the mountain. They could feel and hear the sides scraping apart as it slid several feet before finally stopping.

Mi'en tried to open the exit with the controls, but the controls were jammed. Therefore she deactivated her crash bubble and shorted out the virtual glass shield with her energy. "Is everyone all right?"

Da'an and Tay'jay deactivated their crash bubbles and assessed themselves.

"We are fine," Da'an panted, a little overwhelmed from the landing.

"It's times like this that I'm glad you're our pilot, Mi'en," Tay'jay complimented. "Any other idiot would've gotten us killed."

"Just doing the best with what I've got," Mi'en said, "which is probably not much anymore."

They examined the shuttle. As the sensors indicated, one of the back engines had been completely destroyed. The other one was too damaged to repair. The interdimensional core had remained intact, but Mi'en had shut it down during their freefall. Reactivating it was impossible with the power shorted out. The front bottom of the shuttle had a huge dent, and each side was scraped of one full layer of bio-slurry and replaced with rock fragments.

"Yep, it's trashed," Da'an summed up.

"Then, we're stuck here, ladies and gentleman," Tay'jay said.

"Well, at least we are alive," Da'an said. "I doubt we will freeze to death, but we had better call for help."

"Yeah, my global's just as dead as this shuttle," Tay'jay said holding it out. "It crunched between me and the seat during the crash."

Da'an and Mi'en pulled theirs out.

"Mine's working, but I can't get a signal," Mi'en said.

"Neither can I," Da'an said. "That satellite must be out of range now."

"Maybe we just can't get a decent signal," Tay'jay said. "After all, it did take me a while to format that picture."

"We will have to wait for another one to pass closer," Mi'en said. "If any of us do manage to call for help, we should ask them to bring radios."

"Good luck," Tay'jay said, climbing back into the shuttle. "By the time a _secure_ satellite passes overhead, it'll be night, and while you're livin' it up with your Taelon temperature-resistant metabolism, Da'an and I'll be freezing our asses off." He pulled out the emergency kit from the inside of the shuttle and some other boxes that had been spared in the crash. "Now, what we have here is emergency first aid kits complete with food and medicine. These two boxes have insulated battery-powered heat suits that protect from the cold and portable energy showers good enough for eight weeks of use if we ration properly."

"You got to hand it to Taelons and Espelons," Mi'en complimented. "When we fly, we fly ready."

Da'an chuckled.

"What about the portables?" Mi'en asked Tay'jay.

"They're intact, but they're fried," Tay'jay said.

"Maybe I could use parts from the shuttle to get them working again," Mi'en suggested.

"That could take some time," Tay'jay said. "We're fighting daylight, and if Auger is still alive, we've got to get to him before nightfall."

"You two get started on that," Da'an said taking one of the insulated suits. "I am going to go look for him."

"I'm going with you," Tay'jay said taking another suit and an emergency kit.

"What about Mi'en?" Da'an asked. "I am not leaving her here alone."

"Don't worry about me," Mi'en said. "I will be fine. Those volunteers probably think we're dead anyway. They won't come looking for us for a long time if they even do at all. You two go. I will see what I can do about the portables."

"Be careful," Da'an said patting her shoulder.

"I'll be all right," Mi'en said reassuring her by lightly caressing her cheek.

"All right, enough of this flower power," Tay'jay said. "Let's get moving."

Tay'jay handed her an energy pistol and an energy cannon. Then, he gave his sister another energy pistol and strapped his closed staff on his suit. He waited for her to get hers on, strapped the emergency kit behind his back, and then they left Mi'en with the wrecked shuttle.

* * *

"What a maze," Sandoval commented.

"Noticed that all by yourself, huh?" Deladier taunted.

"All right, Deladier. You're such a genius. Which path should we take?" Sandoval taunted in return.

Deladier rolled her eyes and checked all the pathways. Each appeared to be the same, so she used her implant to get a better look at the walls of each cavern. Hopefully, there would be some difference.

"We're waiting," Sandoval teased.

"Spare me!" Deladier shot back. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Really? Because I figured the difference between the paths was represented by those beautiful Taelon markings at the top of each entrance," Sandoval said pointing upwards.

"What?" Deladier cried. She looked up to see what he was talking about, but she could not find anything. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"That!" Sandoval said pointing his flashlight to a small, carved symbol at the top center of the entrance to one of the pathways. He pointed it towards another marking on a different pathway.

"Oh, I see it now," Deladier said lightly. "All right, I'll admit it. You're smarter in that you saw the markings. So tell me, oh wise and gracious leader, what do they all mean?"

Sandoval said nothing.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Deladier said. "We're not getting anywhere with this petty arguing. There's got to be a way to figure out which path to take. A translator or something somewhere."

"Excuse me, Agent Deladier," one of the volunteers called.

"What is it trooper?"

"Look at this," he said, pulling a piece of torn bright red cloth from the floor.

She held it in her hand and examined it closely. "Huh. Looks like someone did survive that explosion."

"There's a trail of soil from the surface that goes in this direction ma'am," another volunteer said.

"None of our guys wear clothing this bright," Sandoval said. "You don't think Mr. Devereaux survived his encounter with the beam, do you?"

"If he's somewhere in here, he'll die of starvation, no doubt," Deladier said. "Or blood loss, whichever. It really doesn't matter. Besides, what's one little man gonna do against a squad of volunteers?"

"I'm sure that's what Tate was thinking before he got blown up," Sandoval said.

"Well, this time Devereaux's injured, cold, and lost in a maze without any food, water, or insulating clothing. He's a dead man. Let's portal back outside and see if we can get a signal from our intellectual masterminds on the Mothership."

"That won't be a problem," Sandoval said unenthusiastically. "Zo'or and T'than probably ordered the ship to fly right over us. With our communication equipment, sending messages will be easier than speed-dial."

"Aw, what's the matter, Sandoval? Afraid of Big Brother watching you?" Deladier asked.

"I swear to God, Lydia," Sandoval said frigidly, "watch your back…and your tongue."

"Ooo, I'm all aquiver," Deladier said sarcastically, adding a little shudder just to taunt Sandoval even more. Then, she portalled back to the surface before he could say anything.

* * *

"Da'an, get down," Tay'jay said quickly.

They both ducked behind a large rock formation. A blue light flashed in front of them, and five people appeared. Two of them were Deladier and Sandoval.

"That isn't good," Tay'jay said. "Looks like they've got this whole area secure."

"Perhaps we should try another of these holes," Da'an said.

"They're too far away," Tay'jay said. "Can you teleport inside?"

"That space is too small, and I would have no idea where to go," Da'an said.

Tay'jay thought for a moment. "I've got an idea. Wait here." He opened his staff and crawled from behind the boulder. Then, he disappeared at lightning speed and reappeared in front of Sandoval and Deladier.

The two were so stunned that neither bothered to fire at him.

"How's it going?" he asked casually. Then, with the same speed, he knocked their weapons from their hands and knocked the three volunteers unconscious with his staff.

"You're pretty fast, boy," Deladier said pointing her skill at him.

Suddenly, she was pulled forward and fell on her stomach. Sandoval then tried to fire his skrill, but Tay'jay grabbed it too quickly and pushed it upward. Sandoval used his other hand to punch Tay'jay in the stomach and then jerked his hand free. While Tay'jay worked to recover from the blow, Sandoval fired his skrill, but something tilted his hand slightly to the right preventing him from hitting his target.

Deladier had used this time to rise and aim her skrill at Tay'jay. She was just seconds from firing when someone appeared right in front of her and knocked her down. When she regained her awareness, she saw a woman who looked oddly familiar.

"Who the hell are you people?" Deladier asked.

Da'an didn't answer her. She just pushed her backwards with her telekinesis into a rock.

Sandoval was now running in a zigzag motion trying to hit the now moving Tay'jay, but he was just too fast for Sandoval to hit. Tay'jay used his speed to meet Sandoval face-to-face, and knocked him down. Both of the agents and their volunteers had been taken care of.

"Not a bad plan, huh?" Tay'jay asked Da'an.

"Don't flatter yourself," Da'an said shaking her head. She pointed to the portable behind him. "They must have used that to get inside."

Deladier had not lost consciousness from the blow, and she was slowly regaining awareness as they spoke.

Tay'jay activated the portable and portalled down to the bottom, but before doing so he told Da'an to wait a few seconds to make sure he had gotten down all right. A green glowstick appeared from the portable to reassure her that the portable was safe, so she stood in front of it.

That was when Deladier made her move. She fired her skrill at the portable destroyed it. Before Da'an could react, she fired again. The blast hit Da'an on her left shoulder and knocked her down the hole.

"Yes!" Deladier whispered in quiet satisfaction.

Da'an freefell down the hole, trying to grab onto the edges with her uninjured hand. When it became apparent that there was nothing to grab on to, Da'an had to make a quick decision. She closed her eyes and stretched her arms out, focusing her telekinesis to push hard against the ground. When her body did not slow down, a part of her mind instinctively began to panic, but she did all that she could to maintain her focus. She heard a loud thud along with the sound of scattering debris, but…she did not feel it. However, she was too afraid to make sure she had not died.

"Holy sha'bra!" a familiar voice cried.

She knew she was alive then. The dead could not hear the voices of the living. She released her powers and felt herself hit an uneven surface. When she slowly sat up, she realized what she had done. Her telekinesis had acted as a barrier for her by absorbing the impact and preventing her death. The result had created a huge dent in the ground and had kept her body in midair. Tay'jay helped her up, still in shock from what he had seen.

"That was incredible!" he exclaimed. "How did you do that?"

"My…powers—They absorbed the impact," Da'an panted.

"That's unbelievable," Tay'jay laughed. "Oh, man. Thank the Commonality you've got those powers."

"Thank the Commonality indeed," Da'an agreed. "Deladier destroyed the portable. So unless you are an expert at climbing without a rope, we are stuck down here."

"What happened to your arm?" Tay'jay asked pointing to a pulsing blue light on along Da'an's left arm.

"Deladier hit me with her skrill. That's how I fell. The blast knocked me down here," Da'an said.

"She didn't recognize you, did she?" Tay'jay asked.

"I doubt it," Da'an said. "But it is better that way. Do you still have that medical kit?"

Tay'jay had removed his medical kit just before he sent the glowstick to confirm it was safe for his sister to portal. He removed a bio-slurry bandage and wrapped it around his sister's arm in a crude sling. "Does that feel all right?"

"Yes, I'll be all right," Da'an said. "It does not hurt when it's like this."

"That's good," Tay'jay said. "That means it'll heal quick. What now?"

"Well, there is some good news about our being stuck down here," Da'an said. "With their only means of getting here destroyed, it will be some time before Sandoval and Deladier manage to return. The problem with that is they will call for reinforcements as soon as they are able to contact the Mothership."

"We should move then," Tay'jay said. "Check this out." He pointed to the same patches of dirt Sandoval and Deladier's volunteers had detected earlier.

Da'an observed the dirt a little more closely. "Auger?"

"I think so," Tay'jay nodded.

Da'an looked up to get an idea of the meaning of these caverns. She noticed a small marking just below the blue cables. "What does that look like to you, Tay'jay?"

Tay'jay stared in the direction his sister was pointing. "Looks like a symbol. It looks Taelon, but I can't read it."

"It is the symbol of the Priest of Honesty," Da'an said. "The priests are said to bear these markings somewhere on their bodies."

"What about that one?" Tay'jay asked, pointing to another symbol above another cavern.

"Affection," Da'an said. She examined the rest of the caverns and examined translated all the symbols in the order of which she saw them. "Responsibility, Knowledge, Hope, Courage, Brotherhood, Light. These paths each belong to a specific priest."

"It's a maze," Tay'jay realized. "You walk down all of these paths through one of the entrances. They each probably lead to something, something that represents all eight of the priests."

"Let us focus on finding Auger," Da'an said. "Then we can continue this later."

They followed Auger's tracks down the path of the Priest of Honesty.

"How'd you know what those symbols meant?" Tay'jay asked.

"What does it matter?" Da'an asked back.

"It matters because this could be another one of those things you were telling us about," Tay'jay replied. "Remember? You said that pieces of what happened during the ritual come up every now and then. You also said that you know things the priests know because of the ritual. It's like you carry a piece of their minds. Maybe you can understand _Amanatu_ too."

"No one is supposed to understand _Amanatu_ but the priests."

"But you do…and so did Ma'el. Do you think the same thing happened to him that's happening to you?"

"I hope not," Da'an replied.

"Whoa, watch out!" Tay'jay said suddenly stopping her from falling into a hole.

"Thank you," Da'an nodded.

"No problem," he replied. "Just step around with me."

They slowly moved across the edges of the hole with their backs against the wall until they were safe.

"You don't think he fell down there, do you?" Tay'jay asked.

Da'an bent down to examine the hole. Near the edge she could see small scratches that looked like they were made from fingernails. "I think he nearly did, but he's still alive."

"Then, let's keep going," Tay'jay said. "Hey, Auger!"

"Auger!" Da'an called along with Tay'jay.

"Auger! Marcus 'Auger' Devereaux."

"Tay'jay, how many 'Augers' do you think are on this mountain?" Da'an asked him, while shaking her head. "Auger!"

"Hey! Where are you!"

"Auger!"

"Hey," Tay'jay said suddenly. "Listen."

A faint voice was calling for help. The two ran towards the sound. They continued calling Auger's name until the voice was loud enough for them to be sure it was his. They found him in the darkness crouched in a ball and shivering from cold and hunger. Tay'jay sat him up and opened his emergency kit.

"Auger, speak to me," Da'an said holding him close to keep him warm.

"Hey, you guys," he shivered. "Bet ya thought I was dead, huh?"

"Are you kidding me?" Tay'jay said while removing a heat suit. "We never thought that for a second."

"He means _I_ didn't. He did," Da'an corrected.

Auger chuckled.

"You must be famished," Da'an told him.

Tay'jay opened a rations box and handed it to Auger. "Chow down. We don't need it."

Inside were twelve small sandwiches, freeze-dried fruit and vegetables, several kool-aid packets and some small bottles of water. Auger gobbled up both of the sandwiches. "These are disgusting."

"Then, why are you eating them?" Tay'jay asked.

"Because he's hungry. Leave him alone," Da'an said.

"Actually, the meat's fine," Auger said pouring some kool-aid into one of the bottled waters. "It's the mayonnaise that's disgusting."

"We should tell those guys to just leave the meat in there and make all the sauces and stuff separate. I don't know why they don't do that," Tay'jay said. "Or how about this, how about they choose some form of food other than sandwiches?"

"Well, beggars can't be choosers," Da'an said. "Uh…no offense Auger."

"None taken."

The two helped him stand and get into his heat suit. When he was all zipped up, Tay'jay turned it on.

"Thanks for coming after me, guys," Auger said. "I figured it would've been warmer down here, but I was wrong."

"Forget it," Tay'jay said, re-dressing Auger's wounds.

"What happened to your arm?" Auger asked Da'an.

"Deladier happened," Da'an replied. "She and Agent Sandoval are here with a reconnaissance team to explore this mountain. She destroyed the portable to keep me from getting here. Then, she shot me in the shoulder."

"Oh man, you won't believe what happened next!" Tay'jay told Auger.

While Tay'jay told Auger the whole story, Da'an explored the cavern. There were several more markings on the walls.

"That is awesome," was Auger's reaction to the story. "Hey, Da'an! That's amazing!"

Da'an was too involved in exploring the cavern. Her thoughts had drifted towards Ma'el. She wondered if this was the last thing he ever built. She wondered what his last moments of life had been like. Had he suffered? Was it peaceful?

"Are you okay?" Tay'jay asked her, bringing her out of the trance.

She nodded and turned to Auger. "Have you noticed these symbols?"

"Yeah," Auger said. "I don't know what they mean, though."

"Nobody does," Da'an said. "No one but the priests."

"You do. Ma'el did," Tay'jay said.

"I understand them somewhat. This language is similar to Taelon, but it isn't," Da'an said.

"I don't get it," Auger said.

"When the Taelons first separated from the Jaridian species, we were nomadic," Da'an started. "We traveled light years without a home until we found a planet. It belonged to an energy species just like us. They were in the process of evacuating in order to travel to a new home with another species. They sold the entire planet to us. We named it Taelon. But when a species that has inhabited a planet so long suddenly leaves, things get left behind—ruins, scriptures, texts—pieces. The priests took these pieces and uncovered the language of those who previously occupied the planet. Eunoia is a unique hybrid of that language and the language our ancestors spoke when they arrived those millions of years ago. The priests kept the original language and its memories. Because only the priests were allowed to speak it, its name became _Amanatu_. It means the 'words of the saints' in your tongue."

"Then, what do these markings have to do with that?" Auger asked.

"I think they are letters of the alphabet of this language, but I cannot be certain," Da'an said. "When I read it in this direction, they form sentences that seem to make sense. However…I cannot fully remember—I mean…understand the language."

"Then, what are those giant holes for?" Tay'jay asked.

"They are the entrances to the maze and a means of escape as well," Da'an said.

"How do you know all of this?" Auger asked her.

Tay'jay looked at Da'an for approval to tell him, but she gave him nothing.

"Everyone knows about _Amanatu_, but nobody speaks it," Tay'jay said. "How and why she and Ma'el can understand it, I don't know."

"So I guess the question is 'What's at the end of this maze?'" Auger said.

"The truth," Tay'jay said simply.

"I guess we keep going then," Auger said.

"No," Da'an said. "We have to go back to the entrance."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Tay'jay asked. "Deladier and Sandoval have probably found a way there."

"Deladier and Sandoval will be too busy trying to contact Zo'or to ask him what these symbols mean," Da'an said. "I believe there are holes because they are starting points for each of the eight paths in the maze. One hole for one path."

"Which means that only one of these paths leads to something," Tay'jay said. "The rest are fake."

"He's a sly one, that Ma'el," Auger said.

"The guy was a genius," Tay'jay said.

"We need to contact the Atlantic National Alliance," Da'an said. "When Zo'or sees these symbols he will use this place as a means to destroy the priests and gain control of the Commonality. He will send reinforcements to Sandoval and Delaider in order to fortify this entire mountain."

"But we can't get out," Tay'jay said. "And the globals won't work all the way down here. There's no signal."

"But we have a portable at the entrance," Da'an said. "All we have to do is reprogram it to reach the ANA building and send a recorded message to Mr. Urick."

"Mr. Urick? Don't you mean mud butt?" Auger asked her humorously.

The three snickered.

"Better yet," Tay'jay suggested, "we could send him. He's in pretty bad shape as it is anyway."

"No way," Auger said. "I'm staying here with you guys."

"Auger, Mi'en is with us on the surface and you need medical attention to for those cuts and bruises," Da'an said.

"You need medical attention for that arm, but you're staying, right?" Auger said.

Da'an sighed and nodded.

"Then, why shouldn't I be able to stay? I wanna help you guys. This is a hell of a mountain, and you two can't secure it all alone. I'll record the message on one of your globals to make sure the others know I'm alive. I'll send it to the lair. It'll get to them faster," Auger said. "But I'm not leaving you here."

Tay'jay and Da'an stared at each other, silently thinking it over.

"You're in for a rude awakening, buddy…but yeah, you can stay," Tay'jay said reluctantly. "I don't know how in the hell three people are gonna be able to hold off a bunch of volunteers, especially when two of the three are injured."

"Wounds heal," Da'an assured. "It will be all right."

Tay'jay shrugged his shoulders and asked for Da'an's global. Then, as if he were a messenger, he handed it off to Auger. "It's all yours, computer man."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Origins

"It's a good thing you didn't blast this," Renee said to Street.

Street had been in the lair looking at old pictures of Auger with Ariel when the global came. Everyone's first instinct was to destroy it in fear that it was carrying something malicious.

"Well, I would've, but it had a piece of Da'an's shirt on it," Street said, holding the torn cloth.

"Not that she recognized it when it came," Link said. "I was the only one who did, and she still didn't believe me."

"Whatever," Street said. "The point is that I was careful."

Renee chuckled. "Nice. Well, let's take a look."

She and Liam hooked the global to a computer and waited for the message to play. Auger's face appeared in a dark cavern with a blue light behind it.

"This message is for Liam Kincaid and Renee Palmer," Auger said. "If either of you are receiving this, tell everyone that I'm alive and okay. Tay'jay and Da'an found me, but their ship was attack and marooned on the mountain. Da'an has been injured by Agent Deladier. Right now we're trapped in a series of caverns hidden deep inside this mountain. These caverns are all arranged in an elaborate labyrinth that we believe goes throughout the entire mountain. We also believe that it was engineered by Ma'el hundreds of years ago. Agent Sandoval and Agent Deladier are also here with a reconnaissance team securing the area for the arrival of more troops. If they are able to gain control of the mountain, Zo'or may be able to use this place to take full control of the Commonality, destroy the priests, and take over Earth with the Synod unopposed. Therefore, we are requesting immediate assistance by the Atlantic National Alliance. I don't know when we'll be able to get a message to you again, but Mi'en is caring for the downed shuttle on the surface of the mountain. You send a message to her and meet her there. She'll know what to do."

Street's face was overcome with joy to hear Auger's voice. Everyone else was too concerned about the contents of Auger's message to be happy.

"Call Hubble," Renee said to one of the communications officers. "Inform him of the situation and tell him we're mobilizing. We have to beat Zo'or's troops to that mountain."

"They're a few hours behind us, but it's still night out there, Renee," Liam said.

"That doesn't mean anything. We flew our shuttle up there at night and landed no problem."

"Yeah, and that's fine with just one shuttle, but you're talking a whole fleet of shuttles now, in extreme conditions, in the dead of night, and on uneven terrain. It's too dangerous to fly a massive fleet of shuttles anywhere in that area. We'll have to wait until morning to go. Right now, let's just worry about getting our people ready."

Renee nodded.

"What about Deladier and Sandoval?" Street asked. "They'll be stalking Auger, Da'an and TJ the whole time they're there."

"They can handle themselves," Link said.

"May I remind you that Da'an got herself injured," Renee noted. "Tsk. And she wanted to go alone."

"Hey, give her a break. How many people can take one in a skrill fight and live to tell about it?" Link said.

"Besides, I've seen my companion work. She's better at stealth when she's alone," Liam said. "This one time at the Embassy, Da'an didn't want to talk to T'than, so she hid from him somewhere. I swear to God, not one volunteer found her even though all the employees swore they saw her go in X direction. She got me stuck with that nasally bastard the whole day just looking for her. The SOB finally had to leave with his nose permanently stuck in the air, and out pops Da'an the second he's gone. It turns out _she _was stalking _us_, handling all her deeds of the day along the way. She figured the last place T'than would look for her was right behind him."

"That's my girl," Link laughed.

Street and Renee laughed too. It gratified Renee to see her smiling once again.

"Wait a minute. If you were so sure that Da'an could handle herself alone, why didn't you just let her go when she asked?" Street asked Liam.

Liam sighed. He was almost ashamed to admit he did not trust Da'an with this. "Ma'el's left something more than a weapon. I know it. Da'an wants it, and I needed to be sure that she won't stoop to any grave lengths to get it."

"You don't really think Da'an would kill for a relic, do you?" Street said uneasily.

"The other Taelons would," Renee said tonelessly.

* * *

Auger, Da'an and Tay'jay trekked back to the entrance of the cave. Tay'jay scouted ahead of the two just in case they bumped into Deladier and Sandoval.

"How are you doing?" Auger asked Da'an, when she started to remove her arm from the sling.

"I am fine," Da'an said casting aside the cloth. "It was just a flesh wound, nothing serious." She moved her arm a little to be certain.

"So I never got a chance to ask you what the ritual was like."

"Who told you about the ritual?"

"Liam did when I first came back. He said you spent ten days in some kind of crazy drug-induced fantasy world fighting the priests and your own past just to free yourself from the Commonality."

Da'an looked down at her scarred hand. The blue light was causing the mark to glow. "It was strange. It was peaceful, yet it was terrible at the same time. There are so many things I lost back then. Part of it is the fault of the priests, and part of it is the fault of myself."

"Did you really get a glimpse inside the high priest's mind?" Auger asked.

"Who told you that?" Da'an asked sharply.

"I just…figured it out," Auger said. "You understand a language that only the priests understand, and you underwent a ritual where they could get into _your_ head. Why wouldn't you be able to get inside theirs?"

"I retrieved something that cannot be described as memory."

"Voices then? Images?"

"I do not see these things nor hear them. I just know them when they come to me. I suppose the closest analogy would be like having only certain pieces to an unfinished puzzle so large that it practically encloses you. It envelops you. When you come to the gaps that fit the pieces, you are only able to fill those gaps. You are too adrift in the puzzle to see the whole picture."

"Why won't you tell anybody?" Auger asked. "If you know something about the priests—"

"I do not want to get anyone's hopes up," Da'an said. "I have an idea of what the priests are planning to do, and I can speculate day and night trying to fit the pieces. However, even if I knew exactly what the priests are planning to do, there is not much that I can do about it. Too many have been cleansed, and the priests are growing more and more powerful each day. The only thing we can do something about is the Synod. We will have to worry about the priests later and hope that the full picture comes to me. But that is something I do not like doing. It gives the priests too much leeway, and it risks the lives of so many."

"So you're thinking what's the point of giving people information they can't use yet," Auger surmised. "I guess that makes sense. But even still, I think Liam and Renee at least would want to know."

"I cannot tell any human anything until I know for certain. I am not sending your people to their deaths by chasing shadows. I wanted to come here alone because I believe that Ma'el left this place for me."

"What makes you think that?"

"Something he told me during the ritual." _Split the sky with lightning and you are there. _

They eventually made it back to the entrance without any incident. They supposed Sandoval and Deladier had tried another hold somewhere, but with no room for certainty, nobody held their breath. Auger placed Da'an's global at the portable that was pinned against the wall with the message he had recorded inside.

"Wait," Da'an said. She unzipped her heat suit, tore off the collar of her blouse, and lay it under the global. "Just in case they get suspicious."

With that said, Auger used the global to program the coordinates and threw the package into the vortex to send it on its way. Then, he joined the two, who had taken their place at the center of the giant hole. Tay'jay was zipping Da'an's heat suit back up.

"So what are we looking for?" Tay'jay asked Da'an.

"Check the walls, the floors, and anywhere else where there may be a gap or an opening," Da'an said. "Every weapon has a manual, and every road has a map. I am sure this place has something like that somewhere around here."

They began searching the area for anything unusual. Auger examined all the walls by knocking on them for a hollow space. Tay'jay searched the ground for any kind of crack. Da'an scoured the entrances of every pathway.

Tay'jay came to the area in which Da'an had made the dent from her fall. He dug through a pile of rock fragments and found something. "Take a look at this!"

Da'an and Auger rushed to see what he had uncovered. It was a blue crystal surface.

"Yeah, I noticed that earlier," Auger said.

"No, not that," Tay'jay said. He pointed to a large white streak painted on the crystal. "That."

Auger and Tay'jay cast aside more rocks. The white streak appeared to form part of a shape.

"We have to dig it," Da'an said.

"Through solid rock?" Auger asked. "You're crazy. Even Moses couldn't part this crap."

"Don't be too sure," Da'an pointed out. She told the two to step behind her. Then she extended her hands outward. The entire ground began to rumble. Gigantic pieces of the ground tore off, smashing against the walls and rolling down the cavern entrances until the entire blue surface was exposed. The crystal floor was glowing so brightly that it lit the entire area. The symbols at the top of each pathway could now be seen as clear as day. Glowing on the floor was also a large bright white symbol.

"I don't believe it," Tay'jay whispered.

"This whole place is a giant portal," Da'an said, "with a protective barrier."

"That's right. That was that beam of light that killed all those volunteers that were after me," Auger said. "I was lucky enough to be at the center of the blast, so I got caught in the portal."

"But why the protective beam?" Tay'jay asked.

"It acted as a drill that broke through the whole mountain," Da'an said, "but with such a limited power source, it could only work once."

"So we can't portal to the other holes?" Tay'jay asked.

"Oh no, we very much can," Da'an said, "but we will be unable to use the protective barrier with it."

"What does this symbol stand for?" Auger asked.

"Honesty," Da'an replied. "Each floor marks the path we are supposed to take."

"All those holes are probably like this," Tay'jay said. "You'd need a drill bit to punch through the rock, and a crane the size of the Tower of Babel just to remove all the rock."

"Or you could just use a psychic," Auger said practically, pointing directly towards Da'an. "I guess you weren't kidding when you said Ma'el made this place for you."

"So how do we use this thing?" Tay'jay asked. "I don't see any controls or anything."

"Neither do I," Da'an said. "Maybe the answer we are looking for is at the end of the path of honesty."

"What a coincidence," Auger said in a frustrated tone. "That's the same exact path we were taking in the first place. If we had gone just a little further, we would have saved ourselves the trouble having to walk back here and now walk back down that same damn path."

"Eh, based on our luck, if we had kept going, that path would've been the wrong one," Tay'jay said.

"Well, I'm all for an adventure if you are," Da'an said, attempting to add some enthusiasm.

"After you," Tay'jay told Da'an.

Da'an smirked and moved down the right path, unaware that Sandoval and Deladier had been listening the whole time.

* * *

Deladier had placed a small microphone on the portable at the bottom of the hole as they had been exploring the mountain. It was so small that someone would have had to look with a magnifying glass to have found it. Her initial intent was to give the volunteers atop some peace of mind to make sure they had made it down okay. But now that Da'an, Auger, and Tay'jay were down there, the microphone served a new purpose.

"I don't believe it," Sandoval exclaimed. "It _was_ Da'an! The bitch is alive! But how?"

"What does it matter?" Deladier said. "Haven't you been listening? She's a psychic now. That's how she and that other thing were able to evade our attacks so well. I'll bet she even used her powers to survive her fall. She seems to know more about this place than we do. Let's follow her. If we can capture her alive, we can use her to take control of this place for ourselves."

"She's too powerful and too cunning for us to take her. The only reason you got her was you caught her off guard," Sandoval said. "Let's just follow her for now. We can listen to her give her friends the lesson along the way. Then, we can relay all the information to Zo'or."

"Yes, we _could_ do that," Deladier said cunningly.

"What are thinking about?" Sandoval asked suspiciously.

"While Zo'or's living it up there on the Mothership with the rest of his pathetic Taelons, he's totally out of the loop. If we want to find out what our masters want so badly, the last thing we need is them breathing down our necks. Ergo, we just ask Zo'or for more troops to secure the area while we check it out. Then, we get all the information we can about this place from Da'an, and we take control of it for ourselves. With this place, we might have the means to get rid of Zo'or once and for all. Isn't that what you want after all?"

"I'm not trading one master for another," Sandoval objected. "And the priests are much more powerful than Zo'or and far less forgiving."

"Wake up, Ronnie! This whole maze was created as a means to defeat them!" Deladier exclaimed. "The implication was there as plain as day. We can use this place to dispose of them as well and anyone else that stands in our way."

"You have got to be the cruelest, the most egocentric, the most cunning, and the most treacherous woman that I have ever had as a partner," Sandoval commented. "Where have you been all my life?"

Deladier administered a cruel smile.

* * *

Mi'en had slumbered in her downed shuttle for the night under a portable energy shower. She had attempted to rewire energy from the ID core of the shuttle to the portables, but she had little success. Therefore, she finally gave up and decided to pick it up again in the morning. Because she had not heard from Da'an or Tay'jay, she had no way to know whether or not they were all right. That worried her, and she contemplated going after them. However, with so many volunteers running rampant on this mountain, there was little she could do for them. The best she could do was wait and hope they were all right.

The sound of several landing crafts startled her, and she crawled to the front of the shuttle to get a better look. She hid behind the small fort she had made with the cargo boxes. She had to make it crudely in order to convince any curious volunteers that the shuttle had been abandoned. She knew she had no chance fighting a whole army of volunteers even if she was a Taelon. She opted to crawl away the moment she found out whether they were friend or foe.

She watched the figures walk out of the shuttle. They had volunteer uniforms. These were foes, and with her wrecked shuttle in close proximity, they would most likely inspect the shuttle. She grabbed a gun and crept out of the entrance. She crawled behind the right side and waited. When she was certain that nobody was looking she bolted from the shuttle as fast as her legs could carry her. She soon stumbled upon a clearing where a pair of volunteers was guarding another hole in the mountain. Before they could see her, she ducked behind a dead tree still covered with patches of ice. Eventually those volunteers that had just landed would come here. But she could take two lone volunteers easily. She decided to snipe the pair and wait there for any help. She had to hope that Da'an and Tay'jay had managed to get a message to the ANA for help.

* * *

Sandoval and Deladier sent a message to Zo'or for help, and then they set up another portable to get them down. It didn't take too long for them to catch up with Da'an, Tay'jay and Auger, but they knew they had to keep their distance. They got close enough to where they could hear their conversation from afar but also prevent from giving them any indication they were being followed.

"Man, this place is amazing," Tay'jay said. "I can see why Ma'el cared so much for humanity. These people didn't even use tools like they did in the East. Imagine mining and carving up this entire mountain with just a bunch of rocks. It must have taken centuries."

"I am not all convinced they had anything to do with this. I believe Ma'el took his followers from other places and had them build this in secret. If he did use any tribal labor, he must have negotiated with their leaders."

"I could see that being true, but still…all those other things the peoples here and in Mesoamerica created…it really makes you think," Tay'jay said.

"But all the recordings on the ship said that he knew all the great emperors in this area," Auger said. "They even gave him carvings of himself, and Ma'el gave them technological secrets."

"I do not believe that," Da'an said. "I believe the people you see in those recordings were locals. In the recordings, most of the people he speaks to are not clad in attire normally worn by the ruling elite. In fact, those who actually are wearing royal or upper class attire are among a small percentage. Ma'el probably spoke with them only when they encountered him. I doubt he ever tried to initiate a meeting with any royalty."

"What makes you think all that?" Auger asked.

"Ma'el never liked interfering with the natural order of the species," Da'an said. "Every milestone your people accomplished was completely on your own, contrary to most beliefs."

"But all those humans that Ma'el took under his wing, like Julianus and Katya's ancestors."

"I said Ma'el never liked interfering. I never said he refrained from it entirely. All the same, he would have done as little as possible to interfere. If he had helped all the humans across the world, your species would not be so unique to us. Those Taelons and humans that do believe the ancient peoples of this world could not have accomplished the monuments they did without some kind of alien interference do not truly appreciate the gifts your species has to offer. It is sad."

"But that dimension we went to…the one with Maiya. It was supposed to be the reality where the Taelons didn't interfere."

"There are said to be billions of alternate realities in the time continuum, Auger," Tay'jay said. "I'm sure if you and Liam traveled long enough, you would've come across an Earth ruled by bears and monkeys eventually. As much as you and Liam would like to put more into that, there really isn't. It was just a coincidence. It was never meant to be anything more."

"I just can't believe that. I don't believe it's possible for Ma'el to have gone on for so long without interfering."

"No one's saying he didn't," Da'an said. "This mountain is proof of that, but you honestly don't believe that Ma'el was responsible for the building of the pyramids in Egypt, the start of writing in Mesopotamia, the creation of the metropolis of Teotihuacan in Mesoamerica—his face would be carved all over. The ancient scriptures would speak only of him. Ma'el only used the people if they were willing. He was not some kind of god to be worshipped. He despised the idea of acting like a deity. That is why he despises the priests so much. What I am saying is that Ma'el conducted all of his ulterior activities in secret. One of the reasons the Taelons came to Earth is because the Synod believed Ma'el was not doing a good enough job preparing them. If anything, he was not interfering _enough_. Those humans you refer to probably encountered Ma'el by accident and followed him. However, Ma'el was never popular nor powerful enough to start a massive worldwide movement or completely change the course of humanity's evolution. You give him far too much credit. Your species would only have one religion, one culture and one god if that were the case. You would have known Ma'el was here long before we did, and our arrival would have meant nothing to you."

"People don't change because some guy from outer space tells them to," Tay'jay said. "They do it all on their own, regardless of how divine they think he is. A white exploration team that was marooned on the islands in a storm discovered the Hawaiian Islands. When they set foot on the islands, the locals thought they were gods. They used that to their advantage and exploited the peoples into giving them food, water, and even rebuilding their ships. Then, on their way back, a terrible storm happened. The captain came back to the island thinking that the locals would help their god, but they didn't. Instead they killed him. Do you know why?"

"No why?" Auger asked.

"It was because the locals had a prophecy saying that a god they worshipped would descend from the heavens and come to them. Upon doing all he needed to do, the god would leave and never come back. When the white man came back, they knew then that he was an imposter, so they killed him. Do you honestly believe Ma'el could have influenced people with beliefs that firmly imbedded in their psyches?"

"Julianus did say that most people who encountered Ma'el thought they'd gone crazy and would run away," Auger said. "Maybe you're right, Da'an."

"I just refuse to believe that one Taelon could change the evolutionary course of so many different cultures," Da'an said. "Jesus of Nazareth founded one of the dominant religions of this world, yet there are other religions of this world that discount that religion and are equally as powerful. I believe Ma'el did have secret motives that are coming into fruition now, but above all Ma'el was an observer. He watched the many different peoples of your world accomplish amazing artistic, architectural, and intellectual feats no Taelon had ever dreamed of and he truly appreciated that brilliance. If he did not, he never would have gone through lengths such as these to help protect you, even if the way he underwent such methods was in secret."

"So what exactly do you know about the priests?" Auger asked Da'an, trying to veer off the subject. "Like what does every Taelon know about them?"

"The priests are as old as the Taelons' existence," Tay'jay said.

"It started millions of years ago," Da'an said. "There was a species that existed on a planet that is now dead. This species has no name. We used to have a name for it, but the word to describe them was so harsh and so offensive that it was expunged from the Taelon language. All they are known as is the unclassified."

"Yeah. This species was said to be a combination of Taelon and Jaridian. It is the evolutionary root of the Taelons and Jaridians. You know how scientists have this idea of a link between apes and man?" Tay'jay described.

"Yeah. The missing link."

"Well, this species was something like that. A change in our evolutionary track, however, caused the species to split. We don't know how it happened, and we don't know why it happened. It just happened. This nameless species had created a very prosperous civilization by then. Both of these two changed species were deemed unnatural and banished."

"As the years passed, our differences got in the way," Da'an said. "Our ideologies were so different that it was hard for us to get along. We had different religions, different morals, and different intellectual ideas. When the issue came up over who should govern this entire group, that was the last straw. We parted ways, and began to search for our own worlds. What happened next is still debatable even today."

"What happened?"

"Two species—two species that were a lot like us, ironically—had lived in relatively close proximity and had traded together for centuries," Tay'jay explained. "They both were species far ahead of us. The energy species lived on this remote planet in the Maru'vha Galaxy. Because it was so remote, it was hard to trade with anyone else but the species that was like the Jaridians. So when the temperature of their allies' planet began to climb, they were naturally concerned. It soon got so bad that their allies had to evacuate. The energy species opted to go with them to find a new world, a world that would be suitable for both of them so that they could live in peace. By sheer coincidence, they sold their home worlds to the Taelons and the Jaridians. We bought the Maru'vha planet and the Jaridians bought the planet in Tau Ceti."

"No one debates that these two species didn't exist," Da'an explained. "The debate is over whether or not they actually knew each other and traded together. But the Jaridians have destroyed a lot of the old ruins of the original inhabitants. It would be extremely difficult to confirm or deny this hypothesis."

"So what next?" Auger asked. He was starting to like the conversation about myth and origin. The more input he got from Da'an and Tay'jay and the more he learned about the Taelons' origins, he realized they were not so different from humans.

"The Taelons used to be a lot like the Jaridians," Da'an said. "But there was one key difference. The Taelons had the ability to reshape their flesh. This ability is still apparent today. We use it to create our facades."

"So that's how you guys can do that!" Auger exclaimed. "I always wanted to know that."

"Well, for some reason, this ability got out of control. If it were used too often, a Taelon would change into this vampiric, mindless beast. The Kimera were a traveling species of intellectuals that studied different planets. When they discovered us, their sympathies got in the way of their logic. They placed stations all over our world just as we are doing now and began procedures that changed our entire physical makeup. But that was not enough. With this enormous evolutionary step came a sudden increase in psychic ability. We were so unused to the new ability that it drove many of us insane. The Kimera then made a crucial decision. They psychically connected our minds in order to create a single omniscient consciousness that would allow us to share the burden."

"However, the Kimera weren't comfortable with placing the fate of an entire race on a psychic linking system that fragile without some kind of protection," Tay'jay said.

"That is how the priests originated," Da'an said. "Seven individuals were given the ability to manage the Commonality. This was in order to prevent it from steering in the wrong direction and to keep any malignant foreign forces from invading it. Because the Commonality was so essential to our survival, however, these individuals needed to be unique. They had to be selfless. They had to be virtuous and free of corruption. Therefore the seven individuals were picked with adherence to the seven virtues essential for a sentient species to survive: courage, brotherhood, honesty, responsibility, devoted faith, unconditional love, and knowledge."

"What about the high priest? How did he come to be?"

"We don't know," Tay'jay said. "For years, it was just the seven. Then, one day the priests appointed a leader. He was called the High Priest of Light. He was supposed to be the ultimate benevolent being. He displayed each of the seven virtues and lived his life accordingly. He was never corrupted and he never corrupted others."

"The high priest is supposed to be our last resort," Da'an explained. "He is the beacon of hope when all other hope fades. Should any of the seven priests falter, he overpowers them and cleanses them. He is the purifier. That is why he has to be the most powerful priest of the group."

"That's interesting," Auger said. "So why did you guys destroy the Kimera after all they'd done for you?"

"The same reason you would destroy the Taelons eventually," Tay'jay said. "Because nobody—and I mean _nobody_—likes to be controlled. Even though the Kimera left, they didn't stay away for long. They kept coming back to monitor our progress. The priests started doubting the Kimera's intentions. They figured they weren't really coming back to monitor us. They were coming back to experiment on us like rats in a maze. When we got too powerful, the Kimera would try to destroy us. When the high priest was appointed, the Kimera vehemently advised against it. I guess the Kimera didn't like the idea of putting a ranking system in the priesthood. The verbal assault continued until something happened that scared the crap out of the Kimera. What it was, nobody knows. In a panic, the Kimera tried to pull the plug on the Commonality. Their action was enough to piss off every last Taelon tribe on the planet. We all united, went to war with the Kimera, and won. After their government—if you could call it that—was destroyed, we spent the next hundred years or so wiping them out."

"The unification of the Taelon tribes was how the Synod was created," Da'an added. "The Synod reigned supreme from then on, with the priests as their closest advisors."

"You know for a species that claims to be totally intellectual, the Taelons sure do have a pretty violent history," Auger commented.

"I don't know what to tell you," Tay'jay shrugged.

"Well, hopefully you Espelons will learn a thing or two from your counterparts," Auger said. "Don't piss off so many people."

"Hey, the Kimera pissed _the Taelons_ off first," Tay'jay defended.

"So pissing off three other species makes them better?" Auger inquired.

Da'an laughed silently as Tay'jay and Auger continued to argue. She could tell they were nearing the end of the path, but she had been mindful the whole time of the presence following them.

The end of the path led to a large stone chamber, lit by five large crystals at five different sides of the chamber. There was another symbol of light in white paint with a small purple orb pulsing under it. Da'an stepped up to the device, but she stopped Tay'jay and Auger from following her.

"Guard the entrance," Da'an told them.

Tay'jay shrugged and pulled out his staff. Auger unsheathed his pistol.

Deladier and Sandoval stopped as Auger and Tay'jay approached the entrance and hid behind a corner in the path.

"If you want to get to Da'an, you've got to get rid of those two," Deladier told Sandoval.

"Devereaux shouldn't be a problem," Sandoval said. "It's that boy. He's too fast for us to hit."

"I have an idea," Deladier said. "Cover me."

The moment Da'an took the pulsing orb, it erupted in a brilliant blue light. Tay'jay tried to assist her, but a virtual glass shield dropped in front of him. From the blue light, Ma'el's face appeared. His body was fully male as it had been when Da'an met him during the ritual. But something was wrong with him. He looked ill and agitated.

I know it is you, twin sister, he said in Eunoia. I know it is you because…I have foreseen this. I knew this was the first place you would come. I knew you would understand. I know you still understand.

_Split the sky with lightning and you are there. Melt the ice with fire and you rise. _

This entire mountain is the sealant to my last gift to you. This is the legacy I leave to you. The orb you carry in your hand has now been absorbed into your palm. It lies in the scar you bear.

Da'an checked her scarred hand. The blemishes from the blue rose were pulsing in the same white color as the paint.

At the end of my labyrinth is my final gift to you. However, its transfer requires an extremely large source of energy. The electricity powering this maze runs on an immense geothermal generator sealed well below the mountain. At the end of the correct path is a gateway that leads to my gift. However, the power to open this gate requires so much energy that it will short out the generator in a power surge. For this reason, if you reach the gateway, you will only be able to open it once. You will have mere moments to open the gate, retrieve my gift, and exit. I do not need to tell you the consequences of failure. In order to give you the greatest and most efficient amount of time, the gateway must be given its energy gradually. You can do this by activating the stations at the end of the correct pathways one by one. You alone know the right way. That imprint in your hand is the key to my portals. They will take you to each opening in the mountain. Beware of the traps I have set. The traps will not react to your energy, but they will to any companion you bear with you. You—no one else—understands this labyrinth. This entire mountain was made for you. This entire mountain belongs to you. This is my gift to you. This is my curse. I have faith that you can do more with this than I ever could. I was not strong enough to handle it, but I know you can. Mere tricks and premonitions are not the strongest mind, and the soul is not limited to its own sins. Break the river with sticks and stones, and you do not falter. To wound the calm, compassionate, and clear water is to only make you stronger. Split the sky with lightning and you are there. Melt the ice with fire and you rise.

Da'an blushed.

Remember, I will always love you. I will always protect you.

The blue light, and her brother's face faded into darkness. When she turned, a battle was already going on between Tay'jay and Sandoval. Auger was groaning on the floor with a large burn in his left leg, and Deladier was nowhere to be seen.

Da'an released telekinetic energy from her marked hand. An electric hum could be heard that was so loud it stopped Sandoval and Tay'jay from fighting. A wave of psychic energy hurtled towards Sandoval. He just barely dodged it, and it slammed into the wall with the force of a dynamite stick. The dent it left in the wall was at least two meters wide and a full meter deep.

"That's a hell of a gift you have," Deladier's voice said.

Before Da'an could turn, she felt a fist on the back of her head. It was Deladier's. Her skrill was just inches away and ready to fire into her head.

"You make one move, boy, and she dies," Deladier threatened to Tay'jay.

"You're stupid if you think you can threaten us," Tay'jay said.

"Oh yeah?" Sandoval asked grabbing Auger from the ground. He put his skrill to Auger's neck. "What about this guy? Nothing special about him. Just pure human. Will you risk his life to save your friend?"

Tay'jay stared at Auger and then back at his sister. The look in Auger's eyes made him hesitate. That pleading stare for help in some form, that instinctual fear of dying. But when he looked back at his sister, the answer came to him right away. "You're goddamned right I would."

"You…would kill this man to save her?" Sandoval asked Tay'jay in disbelief. "You must really be in love with her, boy."

"Don't you ever call me that again, you little sha'bra," Tay'jay said. "I'm older than your ancestors, and she's not my girlfriend. She's my family."

"Enough of this!" Da'an exclaimed. "What do you two want?"

"We know who you are," Deladier told Da'an. "And we know Ma'el left something for you. What was it?"

"I do not know," Da'an said. "He would not tell me in his message."

"Oh really?" Deladier said. "It must be something really important for him to not even tell you. All right, you're gonna take us to it."

"I can't," Da'an said.

"Oh yes you can," Sandoval said. "Because if you don't, we'll kill your little friend and your kin while he tries to play hero."

"Da'an, we can take these two," Tay'jay said. "Don't let them get to you."

"No, Tay'jay," Da'an objected. "I'm not risking Auger's life or anyone else I care for." She turned to face Deladier with her hands in the air. "This entire mountain is powered by eight different stations. Ma'el gave me the key to each one of them. I am the only one who can navigate this maze, and I am the only one who can activate these stations. I can get you to the gateway. If you really want Ma'el's relic, you will have to take me with you. If not, your control of this mountain dies with me."

"Then, you'll take us to each of these stations and power up this baby?" Deladier confirmed.

"I will do whatever you want," Da'an said. "But you leave them here, unharmed."

"Done," Deladier said. "Now power up this station."

Da'an nodded and walked towards the large white symbol. She placed her marked hand at its center. The entire room was enveloped in a large white aura. The entire ground crumbled save the space on which Deladier and Da'an were standing. Tay'jay rushed towards the path followed by Sandoval, who would not release Auger despite the event. The second they made it to the small patch of rock, the ground, the walls and everywhere else there was rock eroded. Its replacement was a glowing white crystal chamber.

"Ma'el must have used the crystals in this mountain to amplify the power and transfer it to the gateway," Da'an surmised.

"Da'an!" Tay'jay cried. "You don't have to go with these guys! We can take them."

"It's all right, Tay'jay," Da'an said, with a serene smile. "I will be fine. I know what I'm doing."

"Less talk, more walk," Deladier said harshly. She pushed Da'an forward with her skrill. Sandoval dropped Auger and followed.

"I can do you one better," Da'an said. "Take my hand, both of you."

Deladier and Sandoval were hesitant.

"Agent Sandoval, you know me," Da'an said. "Would I betray you so cheaply?"

Sandoval grumbled a highly offensive slur and grabbed Da'an's hand. When Deladier saw nothing happen to Sandoval, she did the same. The three disappeared in their own white light.

Auger groaned as he tried to stand on his burned leg. When Tay'jay tried to help him, Auger punched him in the shoulder.

"Whoa, what's with you?" Tay'jay asked.

"You son of a bitch!" Auger snapped. "You're supposed to be my friend!"

"I am your friend," Tay'jay said innocently.

"Then, why'd you try to sell me out?"

"Because Da'an's my sister!" Tay'jay shot back. "She's the only family I have left. I don't have anyone else after her. No one else! So you'll excuse me for not wanting to bargain for her. I don't put anyone else's life before hers, not even my own friends'…and she knew that too. That's why she went with them. She didn't want that on either of our consciences."

"Yeah, just like Lili," Auger said to himself.

"What?" Tay'jay asked.

"Nothing," Auger said solemnly.

"I'm sorry," Tay'jay said offering his hand again.

Auger took it and let him pull him up. "There's nothing to be sorry about. Let's go get your sister back."

Auger limped out of the chamber on Tay'jay's shoulder. He left with an understanding of what Da'an and Lili had gone through in those last moments they shared together, and an appreciation for both of their strengths.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Greed

Mi'en had managed to knock out the two volunteers, but as she had expected, the reinforcements had tracked her. She had to abandon the open area until she came to a large escarpment. She had taken the two volunteers' guns, and she was now engaged in a laser battle with the reinforcements. She had just run out of ammo on the first gun when two torpedoes from the sky killed the volunteers.

Four shuttles landed, but Mi'en still hid. She hid until she saw Liam and Renee exit one of the shuttles. Then, she popped from her hiding space and ran to embrace them.

"You're a pretty daring little Taelon," Renee commented.

"Well, it's better than being captured," Mi'en shrugged, still overjoyed that her friends had come with help.

"Have you heard from Da'an and Tay'jay?" Liam asked.

"No," Mi'en said. "They took some supplies after our shuttle crashed. Then, they went after Auger."

"Yeah, they found him," Renee said.

"They did?" Mi'en asked with her eyes widening. "You've seen them?"

"Auger sent a message with a piece of Da'an's shirt," Renee said. "He said they've found him, but Da'an's been injured. They're somewhere inside the mountain, but we don't know where."

"We have to find them," Mi'en said urgently, "before those reinforcements can get to them."

"They're all over this mountain," Liam said. "Shuttle after shuttle's landing. It's like Zo'or sent the whole Mothership here."

"We've got other troops landing in the same areas," Renee said, "but we don't know if they'll be able to hold off the volunteers."

"What do you need?" Mi'en asked.

"Information," Liam replied. "Auger said this mountain is one giant maze. Sandoval and Deladier are looking for a relic that Ma'el may have left here. We think they're planning to use this mountain's power as a weapon. We've got to secure all entrances to the underground."

"There was a huge hole back there that two volunteers were guarding," Mi'en said. "There are several more. We figured those were the entrances."

"We noticed that too," Renee said. "That's also where all Zo'or's shuttles are headed. We've sent ours there too."

A huge blue beam from the distance interrupted them.

"What the hell was that?" Liam asked in awe.

A second beam appeared right in front of them. It was so bright that they had to turn away from it and shield their eyes to prevent from being blinded by it.

Renee, Liam, Mi'en, and the other ANA troops headed in the direction of the beam. They realized the beam had come from the hole.

"What's going on here?" Renee asked.

"I don't know," Mi'en said, "but we must find Da'an, Tay'jay and Auger. I think something has happened to them."

"Renee, come back," Link's excited voice cried from her radio.

"Renee here."

"Hey Renee! Did you see those lights? One of 'em just came up outta nowhere right in our faces! It was amazing!"

"We saw it," Renee said woodenly.

"Well, I'm here at one of the holes," Link said. "The volunteers beat us to it, but that light scared the bejeezes out of them. It gave us what we needed to push in and take over. There's a portable portal here. I think this is where Da'an and TJ found Auger."

"Take it to the bottom and find them," Renee said urgently. "If you find them, send them to my coordinates."

"Link," Liam said activating his own radio. "Have any of the other teams reported yet?"

"Nope," Link said. "But I'll bet they're gonna have the same problems as we did. Looks like the volunteers got here well before us."

"They came in the early morning time," Mi'en said to Liam.

"I've got Mi'en here," Liam said. "She says the volunteers came early this morning. Just fortify the area, find our MIAs, and stand by for the other teams' reports."

"You got it," Link said.

* * *

Sandoval and Deladier felt like the air had been pulled from their lungs when they made it to the next hole.

"How…how did you do that?" Deladier panted to Da'an, trying to catch her breath.

"The orb I took from the first station has been imbedded in my palm," Da'an said, helping the two stand. "I believe it is an amplifier for my psychic abilities. Even when we teleported back to the entrance, I could sense the increase in power. I have never seen a location as clearly as I did then."

"You're being awfully courteous to us," Sandoval said catching his breath.

"You'd rather me be abrasive?" Da'an asked.

"Not at all," Sandoval said. He waited for Da'an to answer him, but when she didn't he asked her, "Which way?"

"I do not know," Da'an said. "Move behind me."

Sandoval and Deladier hesitantly walked behind her, but Deladier still put her skrill to Da'an's head.

"No funny business," she warned.

Da'an ignored her and raised her hands. The ground crumbled and parted as it had done with the first entrance. Revealed was the same blue crystal floor that lit the whole area. This time, however, a different symbol was on it.

"Responsibility," Da'an said. She pointed to the path with that same symbol. "That way."

"Can't you just teleport there?" Deladier said mockingly.

"I could if I knew where the end was," Da'an retorted. "Just because I am psychic now does not mean that I am omniscient. Sorry, Lydia, but we'll just have to settle with walking."

Deladier scoffed and pushed Da'an in that direction. Sandoval grabbed Da'an and pulled her in front of Deladier.

"You never answered my question."

"You have quite the temper for an annoying little Philipeno man," Da'an said haughtily. "I am assisting you so generously because I know you have no intention of giving whatever is in that gateway to Zo'or. You two clearly want it for yourselves."

"How did you figure that?" Sandoval asked, retaining his professionalism.

"Any loyal implant would have taken a whole squad with them to capture me rather than risk going after me themselves," Da'an said. "But you do not desire any of them to report your treachery to Zo'or or to try and stop you."

"That still doesn't explain why you went with us so willingly," Sandoval said suspiciously, "or why you're being so helpful now. You could easily kill us with that hand of yours."

"Why do I need to do that?" Da'an asked mockingly. "You two will be too busy killing each other in the end for me to have to waste my time and my energy."

"You don't know what you're talking about," Sandoval whispered.

"Oh really?" Da'an asked skeptically. "Agent Deladier is just as treacherous and power-hungry as you are. The moment we make it to the gateway, she will kill us. Then, she will take whatever relic lies at the other side."

"You're helping me because you want to help me stop her," Sandoval surmised. "You want me to help you save yourself."

"Don't flatter yourself, Ronald," Da'an said sardonically. "My courtesy comes not from such selfishness nor mere politeness. I am agreeable with you out of pity. I feel sorry for you two."

Sandoval stopped as Da'an went on. Deladier passed him with a suspicious glare on her face. She knew they had been talking about her.

* * *

Link had sent two troopers to explore the entrance. The two immediately pointed their guns in the direction of a strange sound. Two figures emerged from the distance.

"Uh sir," one of the troopers called Link.

"You found something?" Link asked eagerly.

"Uh, more like some_one_," he answered. "It's Auger and Tay'jay."

"Well, send 'em up," Link said urgently.

There was a flash of blue light in front of the portable. Then, Auger, Tay'jay and the two troopers came.

"This is Link calling Renee," Link said in his radio.

"Renee here."

"We've got 'em."

"Liam and I are on our way."

"No, stay there for a second," Link told Renee. "What the hell happened to you two?"

"Sandoval and Deladier happened," Tay'jay said. "They threatened to kill us if Da'an didn't go with them."

"They've taken Da'an?" Link asked urgently. "Where is she?"

"Somewhere inside this mountain," Auger said. "She could be anywhere with them now. They're going into the different chambers of the mountain to power up the maze. Allegedly there's a gateway somewhere down there that leads to Ma'el's relic."

"Ma'el's last relic," Tay'jay said.

"Why would those two be the only ones taking her?" Link said. "They'd need a whole squad to keep Da'an—Oh great."

"What is it?" Auger asked.

"Those two scumbags want the relic for themselves. They probably called their boss and told him to send all these troops and hold tight."

"We've got to stop them," Tay'jay said. "They'll kill her for that relic. And when Zo'or finds out what they're really doing down here, he'll kill them for it."

"Keep your shirt on there, Flash Gordon," Link said. "We're having enough problems just securing the entrances to whatever's down there. We can't go in looking for her just yet, but I do have an idea of where she might be right now."

"What do you mean?" Auger asked.

"Just before we found you, two huge beams shot in the air," Link said. "I think it was a teleportation device."

"It is," Auger said. "It's a giant portal that allows people to transport themselves to the different holes. But only Da'an can use it now. Ma'el left her some kind of key, and it's stuck in her hand."

"Which means at the moment we're totally useless," Link said in frustration. "Renee, come back?"

"Yeah, what's your situation?" Renee asked.

"Tell your people to find a way to get to the bottom of that hole you're securing," Link said. "We've got reason to believe Da'an might be there with Deladier and Sandoval."

"Why would Da'an be with those scum?" Renee asked.

"They're forcing her to power up some kind of gateway," Link said. "I guess it leads to some relic Ma'el left behind, and the implants wanna get their grubby hands on it for themselves."

"All right," Renee said uncertainly.

* * *

Da'an, Deladier and Sandoval were almost to the second chamber when Da'an stopped suddenly.

"What's wrong now?" Deladier asked.

"This marking," Da'an said touching the strange marking Auger had previously seen. "I…think it means 'invader.' I do not know why it is here."

It started to glow blue as Deladier stepped towards it. She placed her hands through the marking. "It's hollow."

Suddenly the ground gave way, and Deladier fell through. Seconds before she could hit the spike floor, something stopped her. Then, she floated back to Sandoval and Da'an on her own. Da'an pulled her on the normal surface.

"Have a nice trip?" Sandoval asked, while chuckling to himself.

Deladier glared at him, and then she glared at Da'an. "Don't think this changes anything."

"Not in a million years. This must be what Ma'el spoke of in his message to me," Da'an said. "These markings locate any signature other than mine and set off traps to dispose of them."

"Gee, how'd you know?" Deladier asked sarcastically.

Da'an ignored her and continued on. When they reached the end, Sandoval and Deladier forced Da'an to the white symbol painted on the wall. Again, Da'an pressed her palm to the symbol, and again the station lit up in a brilliant white light that evaporated the stone floor.

"So I guess the only way you can teleport is if you've been somewhere before," Deladier guessed.

"Teleportation is not something to be taken lightly," Da'an said. "It requires calculation, calmness and focus. Teleporting without knowing your destination can lead you anywhere from the bottom of the ocean to the inside of a solid object. But if I have been somewhere before, I need only to remember the place."

"Interesting," Deladier said.

"Word to the wise," Sandoval whispered to Da'an. "You want to survive Deladier, don't tell her things about your powers…and don't save her life again, should the opportunity arise."

Da'an rolled her eyes. "Yes, Agent Sandoval. I'll do well to heed to the same advice with you as well. After all, the moment Deladier gets a moment with me, she will say the same thing about you." They teleported back to the entrance. Then, Da'an used the amplifier to power the crystal portal with her psychic energy. The blue light enveloped them and fired into the air.

At the next entrance, Da'an removed the stone covering to reveal the symbol of love. They followed the path accordingly. Just as Da'an had predicted, it was Deladier's turn to have her own private chat with her.

"What did he say about me?" Deladier asked.

"That you are no different than him," Da'an replied.

"That's a lot of garbage," Deladier said offensively. "I'm nothing like him. He's a doddering old has-been. He's too bitter and too selfish to stop Zo'or. That fool wouldn't last five minutes against him, much less the priests."

"But with that relic, he could possibly," Da'an said.

"Hmm, not if I have anything to say about it," Deladier said cruelly.

"What will you do if what you find is of no use to you?" Da'an asked. "You will have risked so much and gone so far for nothing, and Sandoval will have already reported your treachery to Zo'or."

"Honestly, Da'an," Deladier said. "Do you really believe me to be the enemy in all this? It's him, Da'an. He's the one with the short stick. He's the traitor. T'than warned me about that bastard. He warned me that Sandoval would try to take the relic for himself. It's my job to stop him from doing that, and to bring whatever it is behind that gateway to T'than only."

"So you are not as selfish as Sandoval perceives you to be," Da'an said, hiding her skepticism.

"Of course. I am merely going along with this charade because I know how badly Sandoval wants the relic. He's insane. He thinks that if he kills Zo'or, he can take all the power and technology the Taelons possess to live forever. He wants to be a god. That's why you have to work with me," Deladier said. "Side with me, and we'll stop Sandoval together. You'll be rid of him once and for all, and I'll spare your life."

"I should be so fortunate to be in such concerned company," Da'an said, maintaining that diplomatic tone she had mastered over the years but hiding her suspicions.

"I know you don't trust me," Deladier said, "but I do want to help you. My only intent is to stop Agent Sandoval."

"And T'than wants to stop Zo'or," Da'an surmised.

"Of course he does. T'than would never consciously ally himself with scum like Zo'or. He's planning a coup. Than he'll use Ma'el's relic to defeat the priests and reign supreme."

"The web of deceit and intrigue grows rapidly. I suppose the only question left to ask is…what's in all of this for you?"

Deladier felt the piercing glare of Da'an's narrow blue eyes. She felt as if Da'an was not the only one in there. Something much older than Da'an lay beneath those eyes. She wondered if anyone else had felt it yet. She wondered if Ma'el had felt it long before her.

* * *

"Hey look at this," Auger said, showing Link recent satellite pictures of the area he had downloaded into Link's global the moment he received a signal.

Link looked closely at the pictures. Auger zoomed in for him on the holes that the volunteers had secured. Then, Link understood perfectly what Auger was referring to. "Portables," Link said. "They've set up portables to get inside the mountain."

"And check this out," Auger said zooming out to reveal an entire outline of the area. "Da'an portalled here first. Then, here, and here."

Link noticed the pattern Auger had made. The holes formed a large circle around that region of the mountain, and Da'an had been moving from hole to hole in a counterclockwise rotation. "So we can predict where she's gonna be."

"It's like Ma'el just knew she would start with this hole that I fell in," Auger said.

"Maybe he did," Link said. "Da'an told me Ma'el could sometimes see things before they happened."

"You think he knew all of this was going to happen?" Auger asked.

"Yeah, probably," Link said. He took the global from Auger. "If she's going in a counterclockwise direction, that means she'll end up here. That's only a few miles away from us. If we just send all the troops there, we'll be able to take over that hole easy. Then, we can confront Deladier and Sandoval and rescue Da'an."

"But that leaves all but one chamber powered up," Auger said. "You really wanna give them that much of a head start."

"It doesn't matter who powers up that gateway," Link said. "All that matters is that Da'an needs to be the one to go through it. It's a bit of a risk, but we can do it. Those other volunteers aren't gonna move from those holes because they've got no clue what's going on down there, and they don't know we're here yet. So unless Sandoval and Deladier call for help, which they won't, there's no reason for them to come and assist."

"All right," Auger said. "I'll call Liam."

"The hell you will," Link objected. "You've been up here long enough. You need to get back to ANA headquarters and get those wounds looked at."

"I'm not leaving here until this is over," Auger replied.

"The air's too thin up here for you to be walking around injured and starving," Link said. "You really want everyone finding out you died from a pulmonary edema just because you wanted to see the ending? Trust me. It ain't worth your life."

"But I can help."

"You can help even more by going back to DC and sending Street in your place," Link said. "At the rate they're going, they'll be at the end of this maze by the evening. You sure as hell won't last that long."

Auger sighed. "You're right. I'll tell Street to pick up where I left off."

He was crossing his fingers the whole time.

* * *

It was the border between the afternoon and twilight, and Da'an had taken Sandoval and Deladier through six of the eight chambers. There were only two more left, and Da'an could tell they were getting anxious. The distance to each station seemed to get longer and longer. Da'an couldn't tell if that was a reality or if it was just a psychological symptom of fatigue. Whatever it was, she could tell the thin air was getting to Deladier and Sandoval. Each time they got to a different station, Da'an would have to wait longer for them to recover. Their breath sounds increased with every step.

"You know, if I had brought Tay'jay with me, you would have food, water, and all kinds of things to help renew your strength," Da'an said to them as casually as if they were her friends.

Sandoval sensed the underlying mockery. "I don't need this from you."

"Perhaps you should return to your volunteers and recuperate," Da'an suggested in a motherly voice. "I can wait for you here."

"Shut up!" Deladier cried.

"Now is that any way to speak to someone who has helped you every step of the way?" Da'an asked. "After all, we have passed at least six different traps that I have helped you avoid by scouting ahead. If I wanted to, I could just lie to you and let you walk right into one. You'd never know."

"Out of the way, Sandoval!" Deladier cried pointing her skrill. "I'm gonna shoot her!"

"Steady your hand, Lydia," Sandoval said calmly. Instantly, his mood changed and he pointed his own skrill at Da'an. "I'm taking this bitch for myself!"

Da'an scoffed and brushed her hand across her chest. Sandoval's hand followed like a magnet and dragged him into a wall. Deladier reacted instantly by pointing her own skrill at Da'an.

"Don't patronize me, Agent Deladier," Da'an said tonelessly. Then, she turned and walked away as if the incident had never occurred.

Deladier grabbed Da'an. "Don't you dare walk away from me! And you damn well better not patronize _me_, you sanctimonious whelp."

"I find the irony in this situation fascinating," Da'an said casually, as if she were making conversation with any average person.

"What are you yapping about now?" Deladier asked in a frustrated tone.

"Each path we have followed represents the virtues essential to life, liberty, and happiness," Da'an said. "Honesty, Love, Responsibility, Faith, Brotherhood, Courage, and now Light—yet you two do not seem to adhere to any one of those. Tell me, implants, was there ever a time that you were actually happy? Were you ever kind to your fellow man?"

"I think the bigger question is 'Were _you_ ever once like _us_?'" Agent Sandoval said back. "After all, the CVIs are Taelon in essence. Do the sins we exert represent the hidden sentiments of your species as a whole?"

"That's where you are wrong, Agent Sandoval," Da'an said. "Granted the CVIs are Taelon technology, their prime motive is to bring out what characterizes who you are. Your true feelings, your true intentions—your soul, Agent Sandoval—so that you could utilize those abilities to best serve the companions. And despite your delusions of grandeur—your fantasies about destroying Zo'or, the Synod, the priests, and anyone else who threatens your endless quest for power and greed—at the beginning of the day, you always come to work on time, in the middle of the day, you perform whatever assignments Zo'or gives you without question, and at the end of the day, you shake Zo'or's hand and wish him a good night. I would say your CVIs are doing exactly what they were programmed to. The only mistake we made with those implants was failing to distinguish to them the difference between a pure heart and a sinful one."

"And whose fault is that?" Agent Sandoval asked sinisterly. "How can a species that has false morals, a corrupted government, an impure commonality, and no emotions of which to speak expect to establish that difference?"

"It can't," Da'an admitted, "but I'm working on that…and you are doing very little to help."

"The Taelons don't deserve help," Sandoval said.

"Neither do you for that matter," Da'an said tonelessly. "And yet I still do, even now, after all that has happened between us. I wonder why. What madness compels me to feel sympathy for the devil…" Da'an turned towards Deladier "…and his whore of Babylon?"

"Your words mean nothing," Deladier said in a silent rage. "You won't last the night."

Da'an just shook her head and continued onward with them following close. When they came to the chamber, Da'an noticed that something was different about this station. The symbol of light was on the wall, but there was some kind of stone box under it. She walked towards it and opened it. Six data crystals and a player were inside along with a smaller wooden box of several aged artifacts. On the six data crystals were labels that Da'an perceived to be dates.

"What is all this?" Sandoval asked.

"These were Ma'el's priceless possessions," Da'an said.

She inserted one of the disks into the player. Despite its age, it was working perfectly. Taelon script appeared in a holographic screen. It was Ma'el's diary. Hundreds of years' worth of information about Ma'el's deepest sentiments—his thoughts, his dreams, his darkest fears. Da'an removed the disk and inserted another one, the one that contained the last pages of Ma'el's life. The symbols were jumbled in between Eunoia and four ancient human languages. It looked as if Ma'el had attempted to record several different thoughts and images at once. It looked miserable and sad. Images of the past came to her through the script. Picture after picture and symbol after symbol revealed to Da'an the dread and sadness in Ma'el's mind on his last days. The pressure he felt to finish this place before insanity overtook him completely, the pity he felt for his followers, and the misery he observed in his protector, who had followed him ever since his arrival on Earth. But it was the final scriptures that filled Da'an with immense pain and sadness. They were written in Latin, in Ma'el's protector's words.

His name, the book said, was Paul. There was no last name because he had abandoned it as a symbol of shedding his past and all familial ties for Ma'el's wisdom. It gave a tragic account of how Ma'el's foresight had fallen out of control. Tormenting and terrifying images of the past, present and future all jumbled in one plagued Ma'el day after day. It said that he delved too deeply into his own mind so that he could summon the full power of foresight. It said Ma'el had been desperate to because he had to finish his labyrinth. Just before he could see it finished, however, Ma'el lost all his sanity. His health had already been fading for quite some time, which was why Ma'el had felt such a pressure to finish his work and prepare things for his sister. In the last few moments, his situation became so grave that Ma'el, while lying on his deathbed, grabbed Paul's arm and begged him to kill the poor Taelon. Paul refused, but Ma'el was adamant. He could no longer stand the pain. He was barely able to tell the difference between reality and fantasy. Therefore, Paul took a vial of a toxic solution from Ma'el's lab and injected the poison into Ma'el's wrist. He was holding the hand the whole time, until Ma'el finally fell asleep and never woke up again.

It was Paul who oversaw the last finishes on the labyrinth. It was Paul who personally took Ma'el's body back to his favorite spot in Ireland and buried him in under Strand hill. Paul left one final note to the sister he had never met. He said that Ma'el had told him much about her. He had told him about her life, her own pains, and her own underlying strength. "You contain something within you that is more powerful than the entire Commonality, feared by the priests and unbeknownst to the Synod. Never forget that, and never fear that."

Da'an hung her head low and blushed. She turned off the projector and placed the disk in the box along with the rest of Ma'el's accessories.

"What's the matter?" Deladier taunted. "Do you feel sympathy for that fool? That false god the people of Earth were dumb enough to worship."

A giant flame erupted over Da'an's marked palm. Without thinking, she slammed it into the white symbol. The transition from rock to crystal happened much quicker, and then something terrible happened. The white crystal floor turned an unholy red. There was a terrible moaning sound as the walls buckled under the immense burst of energy. A stream of red energy rushed into the blue cables on the ceilings of each pathway. It was so powerful that parts of the cables exploded, and the resulting sound reminded Deladier and Sandoval of gunfire. The sounds continued until the red wave hit the crystal portal. The crystal exploded under the red energy, and it shot upward like lava erupting from a volcano. Large crystal and rock bombs blew out of the hole taking out all the poor volunteers who were close. The power of the red blast pieced through the clouds and into space.

When the enormous pulse subsided, the caverns of the labyrinth were raining loose rocks and soot. The crystal floor of the chamber was pulsing a weak white light. The crystal portal lay in ruins.

"What did you do?" Sandoval exclaimed to Da'an.

The amplifier had drained Da'an's energy significantly to fuel to blast. When Sandoval asked her the question, she was on her knees barely supporting her own weight with her hands.

"Do you realize what you could've done?" Sandoval cried. "You could have expended the energy needed from this chamber to power that gateway! This whole mission would've been for nothing!"

Da'an ignored him. She was too deep in a trance to listen to or care about anything Sandoval had to say.

"Don't be such a bitch, Ron," Deladier said calmly. "Da'an's given me a great idea on what to do with this leftover power once we retrieve the relic. You want to get rid of the priests and take the power of the relic for ourselves? All we have to do once we've retrieved the relic is get her to point this beam at the Moonbase and blow it all up. The priests will never survive a blast like that. The Commonality will become confused and in the confusion, we will take over and depose of our bosses once and for all. It's the perfect plan."

Sandoval thought for a moment. "What makes you think I'd share the glory with you?"

"Because if you don't then I'll fry you once we get to the gateway. I doubt Da'an would have any objections to that. Hell, she may even help me, isn't that right, Da'an?" She grabbed Da'an's arm and pulled her to her feet.

Da'an jerked free from Deladier's grip. "I know now what is at the other end of that gateway."

"What?" Deladier demanded. "What's over there?"

Da'an chuckled deeply. "The truth behind truths."

"What are you talking about now?" Sandoval demanded.

"Everything," Da'an said in an enlightened voice.

She glided past them and out of the chamber. Sandoval and Deladier uneasily followed.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Behind the Gateway

The ANA troops had to get to Link and Tay'jay's station on foot in order to prevent giving any notice to the volunteer troops stationed all over the mountain. That took time—a lot of time. By the time everyone was gathered, it was nearing evening.

Auger stayed as long as he could, which meant hours of him disappearing from Link and Tay'jay's view. He was trying to come up with a plan to get to the gateway before Sandoval, Deladier and Da'an. He feared that the battle would go on for so long that by the time they had taken over the last station, Sandoval and Deladier would have a head start to the gateway. He wanted to assure that Da'an would get inside that gateway without Sandoval and Deladier's interference. Plus, a curious part of him longed to be there. He was determined to see Ma'el's last relic. He felt it was a landmark event he had to be present for. After all, if it weren't for his inadvertent plummet into the first hole, none of this commotion would have occurred in the first place.

Link did finally catch Auger and ordered an escort to take him to a shuttle and fly him home. However, the moment the escort stopped looking, Auger dropped out of sight and disappeared into the rocky wilderness. He ran as fast as his body would allow. Amazingly the pain in his leg had left him, enabling him to run even faster. He wondered if he was going into shock. Maybe it was the same adrenaline rush that was causing his heart to pound like a jackhammer. Maybe it was numbing his nerves. Whatever it was, Auger got to the next station where he could see Liam and Renee directing the troops on their way to Link and Tay'jay. Mi'en was helping the soldiers load supplies. He tried to call her name softly, but Mi'en was too far away to hear him. Shouting would let everyone and their mother know he was here. So he threw a small pebble. It landed beneath her feet, and Mi'en searched for the point of origin. She found Auger hiding behind a small patch of snow. Mi'en looked around to make sure no one else had seen it, and rushed over to him.

"You should be back at headquarters," Mi'en said. "You are going to get sick."

"Mi'en, just because I'm hurt doesn't mean that I'm sick," Auger said. "I wish everyone would stop associating the two."

"But you have also been here longer than us," Mi'en said. "I know the thin air is getting to you, and you haven't eaten in hours."

"Give me a box of those nasty sandwiches, a drink of water, and let's get to that last station before everyone else," Auger said quickly.

"What are you thinking?" Mi'en asked with in an unsettled mood.

"When Renee and Liam took down those volunteers, did they secure the shuttles they arrived in?"

"They may have. Um…I believe so."

"Those shuttles have extra uniforms for, you know, just in case they're in for a long stay. Let's make a run for the shuttles, grab a couple of uniforms and go to the last station in disguise."

"What is the big deal? What do you think is going to happen that only you can prevent?"

"By the time we're mobilized and ready to battle, Sandoval, Deladier, and Da'an will have made it to the last hole. That means they'll have a head start to that chamber by the time we get organized enough to rescue her."

"So you want to get to the gateway before them and confront Deladier and Sandoval yourself. Auger, you are crazy."

"Mi'en, we can trap them," Auger said. "I know we can. We can help Da'an get inside that gateway and retrieve the relic."

"Why is all of this so important to you?" Mi'en asked.

"Because it's my fault all of this happened," Auger said.

"It's not your fault," Mi'en said.

"But I played a part of it," Auger said. "I want to help. I nearly died for this entire ruckus. I want to know what the hell I would've died for. Or maybe it's not that profound. Maybe I'm just curious. I just know I wanna see this through. Come on, Mi'en. It'll be fun."

"Somehow the idea of sneaking around and battling unevenly against two implants does not fit my definition of fun."

"Then…I don't know. Come on Mi'en. I know you know what I'm talking about. It's like a mystery. 'What's behind the gateway?' 'What do Zo'or and T'than want so badly?' It's like something out of a dream. Liam and Renee always get to see all these amazing things around Da'an, and I'm always left back at the lair keeping the home fires burning."

"I get it. You're a sucker for adventure," Mi'en said humorously. "I suppose the thin air is getting to you, but I can understand. That's kind of the reason why I came here with Da'an. I just wanted to be a part of something bigger and better than me. I wanted something more than just hauling cargo and passengers to and from Nye's home world. It was that…among other things. All right. If seeing this through to the end is that important to you, I'll go with you. I don't know how much protection I'll be, but I do want to make sure Da'an's okay. But I should remind you that you cannot stand another fight against Deladier and Sandoval. You are not even a fighter in general."

"Oh, trust me, I'm well aware of that," Auger said practically. "But I think we can outsmart Deladier and Sandoval."

"How?"

"I'll tell you along the way."

"Fine, I said I'd go. I'll go," Mi'en said raising her hands up in a defeated gesture.

"You're an angel, Mi'en."

"Never call me that again," Mi'en said sternly.

As soon as they were on their way, the enormous beam of red light exploded from the underground. A terrible thunderous sound echoed throughout the mountain, and Mi'en and Auger were both forced to cover their ears. As soon as it was gone, the ground rumbled so hard that Mi'en and Auger caved in on their knees. When it was over, Mi'en could see everybody rushing in the direction of the explosion. She wondered what their reaction had been. When she saw Auger, she realized she didn't have to look too far.

"What…the hell was that?" Auger whispered, still so astounded by what he had just seen that his legs were shaking.

"I don't know," Mi'en replied just as overwhelmed.

"We've gotta get to that gateway," Auger panted.

* * *

"Damn it!" Sandoval exclaimed.

When they returned to the entrance, they found that the crystal portal had been destroyed in the blast.

"This was a powerful blast indeed," Deladier said to herself.

"How in the hell are we gonna get out of here?" Sandoval asked.

Deladier pointed at Da'an. "Why not just have her teleport us out of here? We'll just get to the last entrance on foot."

Sandoval observed Da'an. She had not said one word since the blast, and right now she appeared to be in a trance with her head hung low and her eyes frozen looking straight at the ground. She carried the box in her arms as if it were a small child she feared losing. Sandoval pulled Da'an's head up to face him and pointed his skrill at her head.

"Teleport us," he ordered. "Now."

Da'an slowly extended her hand. Sandoval took it, and Deladier took Sandoval's…reluctantly. They left in a flash of white light. When they made it to the surface, they could see the sun falling over the mountainous horizon. They also saw the devastation the red beam had caused.

"This is incredible," Deladier said. She stared at Da'an in awe. "I can see why the priests didn't kill you.

Da'an just ignored her and started walking. Before Sandoval could follow her, Deladier stopped him.

"I've got an idea," Deladier said. "I don't think we need her anymore."

"What's the plan?"

"I'll tell you on the way. Just make sure you've got a good shot at her when we get to the last entrance."

"Not a problem."

* * *

Auger's plan worked. They managed to slip into the crowd of troops without anyone noticing them…until they tried to get to the bottom.

"Where do you think you're going?" the commander of the troops asked.

"We have orders from Agent Sandoval," Mi'en said. "They are on their way here, and they want us to meet them down here."

"I wasn't notified of this," the commander said.

"You weren't supposed to be," Auger said aggressively. "They've got some kind of prisoner with them who's been helping them. They want us to secure the prisoner once they arrive."

The volunteer shrugged. "Whatever. Just be careful. We lost contact with second squad after that red light appeared. Who knows what's going on now?"

"We'll be careful," Mi'en said.

They took the portable down to the bottom.

"Now what?" Mi'en asked him.

"We can't go down any of these paths yet," Auger explained, "because we don't know which one leads to the gateway. That's where my bright idea comes in. Give me your global."

Mi'en nervously gave it to him.

"We're gonna erase all the symbols above these caverns," Auger said. "But before we do, I'll make a recording of the paths in a counterclockwise direction, starting with this tunnel closest to the portable. Can you remember that?"

"Sure," Mi'en said. "The tunnel closest to the portable going counterclockwise."

Auger took the global and slowly turned around 360 degrees with the global on record. Then, just in case it missed something, he took digital pictures of the symbols going in the same direction. Mi'en helped him look over what he had recorded.

"Can you see it well?" Auger asked.

"Yes, I can," Mi'en said. "It's strange. These symbols don't seem Taelon to me."

"Because they're not," Auger said. "Well, they're sort of not. Da'an said they're some kind of hybrid language of Taelon and the original language of the people who used to live on Taelon before you guys got it."

"_Amanatu_?" Mi'en asked. "But that's a forbidden language. Only the priests are allowed to speak it. I could see Da'an understanding it, but Ma'el—how did he learn this?"

"What did you mean by that?"

"What?" Mi'en asked suddenly.

"You said you could see Da'an understanding the language. Why?"

"You mean she never said anything to you?"

"Anything about what? You mean about pieces of the priests' memories getting implanted in her head from the ritual? I know about that. She said she didn't want to tell Liam and the others because she didn't wanna get their hopes up."

"Did she tell you why?"

"Yeah, I just—"

"No, not that," Mi'en interrupted. "I'm talking about why she has pieces of the priests' memories in her head."

"No, she didn't say anything. I just figured she didn't know."

"Oh, she knows. Trust me."

"So then why won't she say anything?"

"She has. She told me, she told Ta'lay, and she spoke to Tay'jay long before that. I believe she's also told Link. We've helped her fill most of the gaps, but there's still one big gap that she cannot remember no matter how hard she tries."

"Well, what is it?" Auger demanded.

"Her time with the priests," Mi'en said uneasily. "When she turned sixteen, the priests removed her from her family and isolated her. Nye says it was only for a year, but Tay'jay insists that it was much longer than that. Allegedly, they instructed her in their ways. They wanted to turn her into one of them. She has spoken with us several times about this. We believe those pieces are hidden memories of her time with the priests. She believes that if she can remember what they taught her, then she can figure out their strategy and stop them."

"But why does she have to keep all this secret from Liam and Renee? They're her friends."

"Because Renee and Liam are too close to Hubble," Mi'en said, "and Da'an does not trust Hubble."

"She suspects Hubble?" Auger asked in bewilderment. "Why?"

"You just promise me that this information never goes to any other human," Mi'en insisted. "I should not have even told you. You tell no one of this, not even J. Street. Now, promise me!"

"Mi'en—"

"Promise me, or I will walk out of this chamber and leave you here on your own!"

"All right! All right, I promise," Auger said putting his hands up in defeat. "Geez. I don't get what the big deal is. Even if they knew, they'd keep it secret. You guys should trust them. They trust you."

"We've wasted enough time," Mi'en said turning her head. "Let's just get started removing these symbols."

* * *

The ANA troops moved in later in the evening. They attacked the volunteers just as the temperature was beginning to drop. Da'an, Sandoval and Deladier arrived minutes later.

Liam, Link, Tay'jay, and Renee had seen, heard, and felt that enormous explosion, and it had scared them. They feared something horrible had happened to Da'an. They feared that Sandoval and Deladier had gotten their hands on a weapon of tremendous power.

"We have got to get down there now!" Tay'jay yelled over the crossfire.

"Let's go then," Link said. "All of us."

"No," Renee said. "I'm staying with the troops…and so are you Liam."

"Renee, what about Da'an?" Liam asked urgently. "And Sandoval and Deladier?"

"They can handle it," Renee said, "but we can't afford Sandoval or Deladier discovering that we're part of the resistance or the ANA. If that got back to Zo'or, we'll be dead before we get back to Washington."

There was a loud explosion. A group of the ANA troopers pointed their weapons in that direction. There was no longer any time for Liam to object. "We'll take care of it."

Link and Tay'jay ran towards the sounds of fighting. Tay'jay heard that strange humming sound he had heard before. He knew his sister was behind those rocks. As if on cue, Sandoval and Deladier appeared and turned their fire on him and Link. The two maneuvered in a zigzag pattern, returning fire along the way. Tay'jay again heard that humming noise and an explosion. A stream of telekinetic energy hurdled through the ground towards Sandoval and Deladier, tearing up the dirt and rock along the way.

Sandoval and Deladier dove away from the blast, just barely escaping with their lives. Tay'jay found Da'an behind a small boulder with a box in her arm.

"What happened?" he asked her.

"They tried to shoot me from behind. They think the relic behind the gateway is an amplifier just like the one Ma'el left for me," Da'an said. "They want to use it to destroy the Moonbase. We must stop them."

"Get them!" Deladier yelled to the volunteers closest to her as Sandoval and Deladier made their way to the portable.

Tay'jay and Da'an joined Link in his pursuit of the two implants.

"Give them cover fire!" Renee yelled to her squad.

Sandoval and Deladier portalled down to the bottom. Just before Link, Tay'jay, and Da'an got to it, the portable sparked and fizzled out.

"They shorted it out," Da'an said.

Tay'jay was too busy giving cover fire to care.

"What do we do?" Link asked Da'an.

"Do you trust me, Rembrandt?" Da'an asked in return.

"Of course I do," Link said.

"Everyone join hands, and absolutely do not let go," Da'an said.

The two complied without question. Before they could react, Da'an jumped down the large black hole dragging the two men with her. As they fell, they disappeared in a white light.

* * *

Once Sandoval and Deladier got to the bottom, Sandoval fired his skrill into the portable, knowing it would short out the portable above.

"That ought to hold them for a while," Sandoval said. "You're sure you've memorized the symbols?"

"Of course I have," Deladier said.

A white light appeared in front of them and three figures plummeted into the ground.

"Stay where you are!" Sandoval said pointing his skrill at them along with Deladier.

"This is stupid, you two," Link told them.

"Don't get in our way!" Deladier warned.

"You two are delusional," Da'an said. "You will never harness enough energy to power the weapon, and you will never be able to control its aim. It only goes straight upward."

"Perhaps we didn't make ourselves clear before, Da'an," Deladier said. "We'll obtain Ma'el's relic, and we'll have all the energy we need to power the weapon."

"But there is no relic!" Da'an cried.

Her words stunned not just Sandoval and Deladier, but everyone else in the cavern as well.

"It's not an amplifier. It's not a relic at all," Da'an said.

"I knew it!" Sandoval said shaking his head. "T'than and Zo'or were after something greater than a weapon all along."

"If a relic isn't behind that gateway then what is?" Deladier demanded. "What's so important that T'than and Zo'or would put us through all this to get there?"

When Da'an didn't answer, Sandoval stormed towards her and aimed his skrill directly at her neck. Link and Tay'jay reacted immediately by pointing their own guns at him and Deladier.

"What's behind that gateway!" Sandoval yelled.

"You're surrounded, dirt bags," Tay'jay said. "Even if she does tell you, you'll be in pieces by the time you turn around."

"Shut up!" Sandoval cried. "We worked our asses off for this, Da'an. You damn well better tell us."

"Don't tell them Da'an!" cried Auger.

Everyone whirled around and aimed their guns at Mi'en and Auger.

"Whoa," Mi'en warned, "don't do anything stupid. Look above you."

Sandoval and Deladier complied. The symbols for each cavern had been chipped off.

"What did you do, you little whelps!" cried Deladier.

"Even if she tells you, you'll never figure out which path to take," Auger said. "See Link? I am of some use to this mission."

"Gloat about it after we're all alive tomorrow," Link said aghast that Auger would even think to bring up that subject at this time. "We've got a situation here."

"Only we know," Mi'en said. "It's over, you two. This ends here."

"What's behind that gateway?" Sandoval repeated coldly to Da'an. "This is the last time I'll ask you."

Da'an blushed. "Everything."

"That's not an answer," Sandoval said.

"Oh yes it is," Da'an objected. "Everything that Ma'el ever was lies behind that gateway."

Sandoval and Deladier's eyes widened.

"Why do you think the last pathway in this pattern is knowledge?" Da'an asked them. "Because beyond that gateway lies the ultimate knowledge. Access to the past, present and future. The truth of all truths."

"Ma'el's powers," Mi'en whispered. She never meant to say it. It just slipped out of her mouth instinctively. "His ability to read and control minds."

"Extrasensory perception in its purest form," Da'an said.

"Do you know what that means?" Sandoval asked Deladier. "T'than and Zo'or were planning to enter the gateway themselves and gain Ma'el's power. Only with Ma'el's power can they even hope to match the power of the priests. They'll use it to outsmart the priests and kill them."

"And now, it belongs to us," Deladier said distantly. "We can become demigods just like Ma'el and dispose of all of them. Imagine the entire Taelon race ruled by humans. Tell me, Da'an, would that qualify as tragic irony or poetic justice?"

Da'an hung her head low. "You are a liar, Deladier, and you Sandoval are a tyrant. I know what you plan on doing, Lydia, and for showing just a shred of dignity I will give you one last chance. End this here, and go back to the Mothership. Take your volunteers and return to Zo'or and the Synod."

"I'm never going back to that hellhole. I will not be a slave to anybody!" Sandoval cried as if Da'an had been addressing him more so than Deladier. "Ma'el's knowledge is too powerful to belong to someone as weak as Zo'or and T'than. If anything, it should belong to me!"

Deladier glared at him.

Da'an sighed. "Release them."

"What!" everyone other than Da'an exclaimed.

"You heard me," Da'an said sternly. "Release them. If Ma'el's gift is what you want, take it. I will even tell you which way to go."

"Tell us!" Sandoval snapped.

Da'an pointed to the path right behind Sandoval. She didn't even have to think about it. Something inside her just knew.

"Sandoval!" Auger cried as they pushed Da'an aside to make their way down the pathway. "Don't do this! This is suicide."

Da'an grabbed Deladier's arm. "You can't let Sandoval enter the gateway," she whispered sternly. "Do not under any circumstances known in heaven let him even taste the gateway's power. It will drive him mad. It will drive you both mad."

"What makes you think you can trust me?"

"That is your choice. I can only warn you not to let your greed overtake you and wait for me once you get to the gateway. However, if you do try to enter the gateway, it is you who shall suffer, not me."

"I'm not afraid," Deladier whispered. "Just don't even try to stop me. I know who I am."

They stormed down the pathway. Da'an's five companions tried to fire at Deladier and Sandoval, but Da'an stopped them by removing their guns with her telekinesis.

Tay'jay couldn't control his anger. He grabbed Da'an and forced her against the wall. Link reacted by trying to grab Tay'jay, but Auger stopped him.

"Please sister, _please_ tell me you just pointed them down the wrong direction," Tay'jay begged her. "Please tell me you did not just hand them Ma'el's greatest gift on a silver platter!"

"I did nothing of the sort," Da'an said, forcing him off her. "If anything, I have just solved your problems for you. He will take one look at them and he will reject them. The power of the gateway will drive them mad or it will kill them."

"How do you know that?" Link asked.

"They are consumed by their own greed," Da'an said. "I know this because I traveled with them all day throughout this entire labyrinth. They will battle for control of the gateway, yet they battle in vain. Did you ever think to wonder how my brother died?"

"I always imagined that he just got older or had a bad reaction to the atmosphere," Auger said.

"That is how he should have died," Da'an said solemnly. "Knowing what little time he had left, he spent it here, creating this entire labyrinth for me. But in his quest to prepare his legacy for me, he was driven mad. The very power he had all his life evolved beyond his control and drove him insane. His own protector had to poison him just to end his suffering. That is how Ma'el died."

The grief hit Tay'jay life a bolt of lightning, but the only expression he could use to exhibit his sadness was a low rattling of his head.

"This is the gift of which he passed a piece on to humanity—a small piece to a small group of people, a piece that has lasted for centuries and still empowers some humans today," Da'an said. "Neither of them possesses the mental strength nor the moral dignity to have that kind of gift. They will enter the gateway and he will reject them."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: The Awakening

Sandoval and Deladier finally made it to the last station. As they had expected, this final room was much bigger than the others. Eight crystal spikes stood like cornstalks in a circle. Behind each one was their respective symbol, painted on the wall and pulsing white. Each tower with the exception of one was glowing white; seven of the eight chambers had been powered.

Deladier noticed another trap marking right in front of the last symbol. She moved toward the last symbol as to lure Sandoval, but she made sure to keep her distance. Sandoval was too enveloped by the wonder of the chamber to notice. He stepped in front of her to get a good look at the last symbol and try to figure out how to power it without Da'an's help. To Deladier's disappointment, he was still not close enough for the symbol to react.

"I'll bet each chamber we've been to is just behind these walls," Deladier said. "That's the illusion Ma'el created with the labyrinth: making something appear much bigger than it actually is."

"I wonder where all the wrong paths would have led us," Sandoval said.

"Probably to nowhere, or the bottom of a pit," Deladier said. "He protected this area so well. Why would Da'an just hand it to us?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Sandoval asked. "Da'an fears that whatever happened to Ma'el would happen to her if she gained control of his power. She's handing it to us because she doesn't want it."

"Or she thinks we'll fail," Deladier said.

"She's a fool. I'll take the power for myself, and then I'll blow the priests from the sky. We will return to Zo'or and T'than in triumph, and the moment they have their backs turned, I'll kill them and get rid of the rest of the Synod. Not that it'll be any concern of yours."

He fired his skrill at her, but Deladier had heeded to Da'an's warning. She had been ready to dodge the blast.

"Hmm. Did Da'an tell you?" Sandoval asked coldly.

"Not that I really needed her to. I had a feeling you would betray me, and so did T'than. _My_ objective is to take control of whatever lies behind the gateway. Then, I am to get rid of you and return to T'than. T'than is going to give me everything I have ever wanted for that power. Once he makes it big, he's going to reward me by making me his esteemed friend and lieutenant. I'm going to live like a queen. I will have all the power you have as Zo'or's protector and then some, and all I have to do is take the power into me and transfer it to T'than once I get back. Da'an was right. I'm one greedy little bitch. What's your excuse, tyrant?"

"You think small, Deladier," Sandoval said. "You talk big, but you could never walk big. Taelons don't share power. With this power I'll be able to destroy all my enemies before they even think to destroy me. I can learn all their secrets with this power. After all, what's knowledge without learning the universe's best-kept secrets? Hell, I may even learn to be immortal and even bring my dead wife back to me. With this knowledge, I can make my own destiny, and make my own life perfect."

"Oh please, Ronald," Deladier scoffed. "Even if you kill me, you can't do a damn thing until you power this last crystal. What's your brilliant plan?"

Sandoval nodded and walked right in front of the white symbol of knowledge, stepping directly on to the trap marking. "That's none of your concern, Deladier," Sandoval said. He powered his skrill for the final blow. "Your death before all else. I'm no fool."

That was when he noticed the blue light below his feet. A portion of the ground opened and up raised a blue Taelon gun. Sandoval managed to run away, it was too late. The gun fired a single shot, blasting Sandoval in the leg.

Deladier fired her skrill at the gun and destroyed it. Then, she grabbed Sandoval's limp body and heaved it into a corner. "I very much beg to differ, fool."

Sandoval groaned in pain. "You wench! If it's the last thing I do—"

"Save it for your trial with T'than, Ronny. I've got a job to do."

She stepped in front of the white symbol. Da'an had used her psychic energy to power each of the chambers with an amplifier. Therefore, if she used all the power in her skrill, maybe she could equal Da'an's psychic energy. It was a long shot. If she gave up all the power her skrill contained, she was literally giving away its life energy. She would be sacrificing her skrill to make this work. Showing the only bit of goodness in her heart, she stroked her skrill one last time. "I'll miss you."

Then, she wiped everything out of her mind to focus all her energy on the skrill. The skrill began to rattle and wind. She could feel the pain of its legs digging into her flesh, trying to cling to life. A violet light surrounded the skrill. Deladier cringed as her CVI reacted to the skrill's confusion and fear. "Goodbye." With that said, she fired the skrill into the white symbol. The blast was so powerful that it tossed her back into the center of the ring. The white symbol pulsed with energy, and the entire chamber began to rumble.

The stone floor evaporated, and a white light blinded the entire room. The dead skrill burned Deladier's arm, and she screamed as she removed it manually. It left eight gaping holes in her skin. As she tried to stand, the brilliant flash of white light that had evaporated the stone ground overtook her. When she came to, she was lying on a clear crystal floor. She stumbled towards the exit of the chamber when she felt a violent rumble. It was none too soon that she did this because the second she got to the other side, the crystal floor shattered and revealed a black hole. Deladier moved closer to examine it, and a blue beam shot out from the hole and created a cylindrical cage. As she got close to it, she could feel the coolness coming from the blue light. The sides of it trickled downward like a bizarre energy waterfall. So this was the gateway. This was the key to Ma'el's true power.

"Deladier!" a familiar voice cried.

Deladier turned around slowly. "Ah, Da'an. Nice of you to come. You know, you could be of great help to T'than. I'm sure he'd overlook your treachery and reward you the moment he assumes leadership of the Taelons."

"What did he buy you for, Deladier?" Da'an asked. "Money, power, influence—are you so blinded by your own greed that you do not see him for what he really is? He is no different than Zo'or. He is a snake, and he will betray you the moment you do anything for him."

"Oh please, open my eyes Da'an," Deladier said sarcastically. "I'm living in a dream world. Of course I know that! That's why I'll hold the power within me until he's gotten rid of all his enemies. Then, when all my demands are met, I'll finally transfer the power."

"That could take years, Lydia. Do you think you can wield it for so long without consequence? Are you even worthy enough to enter the gateway?" Da'an asked. "On Jaridia, I knew a man named Vorjak. He sought the power to create the perfect hybrid to save his people. His pursuit cost him the lives of several Jaridian women and the life of his own wife. In his pursuit of perfection, he lost his sanity. He died, Deladier! You will too if you cannot let this go. You and he are exactly alike. You both are consumed by your pride and your greed. You will go to any lengths to achieve your ends and you will suffer greatly for it."

"Spare me the lecture! You're the one giving all that up. Why, I'll never know. You're just too selfless, Da'an. You have no appreciation of the finer things in life."

"I am giving up nothing," Da'an said cynically. "Why don't you just wake up and take a look at yourself?"

"You want me to have an awakening, Da'an?" Deladier asked. "All right. Here's your awakening. Being human is working your ass off so that later you can enjoy the finer things in life. What do you think a damn retirement fund is all about? Money is our reward and our window to eternal pleasure and enjoyment. We don't live to do good, Da'an. We live because we know that somewhere along the line, we're gonna be rewarded. And if a few of us happen to get there a little faster by stepping on a few toes, hey more power to us. So unless you plan on stopping me, times a'wastin'. I'd really like my power now."

She stepped towards the gateway and gave a mock salute to Da'an.

"Oh no you don't!" Sandoval cried. He had managed to get to his feet the whole time Da'an kept Deladier occupied and he was running towards her with all his strength. Without her skrill, Deladier was defenseless, so she did the only thing she could do. She ran through the gateway. But that did not stop Sandoval. He leapt into the gateway seconds after she disappeared in order to battle her for control of Ma'el's power.

"Da'an…"

"Just wait," Da'an told Link.

There was suddenly a loud rumble and the gateway converted from its bright blue light into a deep black. Auger lost his balance and fell into Mi'en's arms.

"What's going on?" Tay'jay cried.

"Just wait for it," Da'an said coldly.

There was a loud winding sound and then two bodies were hurled from the opening and into the nearby wall. Link and Mi'en ran over to check them. It was definitely Sandoval and Deladier. Each of them was stiff and pale with a strange look on their faces. Neither Mi'en nor Link could tell what it meant. It appeared to be a look of fear and disappointment, but the grins on their faces revealed something more.

"Holy crap," Link said too overwhelmed at what he was seeing. "They're dead."

"I told you to pity them," Da'an said, her voice in a tone that was not her own.

"Da'an? Are you all right?" Auger asked.

Da'an did not even turn to acknowledge him. She stepped forward and into the gateway. Immediately, her body was consumed as if welcomed with open arms. It disappeared in the blue light. Suddenly, she found herself falling once again. She fell through a blue vortex with her eyes facing what was once the opening she had stepped through. As she fell, a feeling of euphoria overtook her. Her weightless body coupled with the strange but calming sounds echoing made her forget she was falling. Instead she felt like she was floating. This world was a warm place, and as she landed softly in the desert sand, déjà vu crept inside. She had been here before.

As she lay on the soft warm sand, a blue light came towards her. The longer she stared at the light, the more so it appeared to be a man. When he was looming over her, he dropped to his knees and lay her head in his lap. The Taelon's blue form melted away and revealed the face of a young male with red hair and blue eyes just like hers. The boy had face of an angel.

"Sister Da'an," Ma'el whispered. His body was fully male with short red hair, pale white skin, and the familiar robe he had died in. "I told you we would see each other again."

"I might have known it would be this place again," Da'an said. "Why are you so fascinated with the desert?"

"There was nothing like this on our world. I had never seen a place so beautiful and yet so foreboding. It is dear to me. It is fitting to me."

"What happened to Sandoval and Deladier?"

"If you are referring to the ones who entered this realm before you, quite simply, the dead world overwhelmed them. You however have been here before. This is why I brought you here during the ritual. I knew we would meet again. It is the only way that I may pass on my gifts to you. You should know by now, sister, that everything has a purpose even if you cannot see it."

"I will not bother to inquire how you managed to open a portal to this world, but why are you giving me your powers? What would you have me do with them that you could not?"

"The answer is simple. You will bring the Taelons back to the path from which they strayed. You will free us and allow us to continue as something much stronger than any Taelon. My gifts and my knowledge will show you how it must be done."

"Why did you lie to me?"

"I do not understand."

"You told me that I would never doubt myself again when we first met. You said when the ritual was over that I would never question myself. But I do."

"What do you doubt?"

"The ability to safely wield this power. What if the fate that befell you happens to me?"

"That is not doubt you feel. That is fear," Ma'el explained. "It is appropriate. I know what will happen to you, sister. It could be said that I died mourning you. The images I have seen of you crushed me. I have foreseen this since I was a child, and I spent years looking for a way to stop it. However, my presence on Earth has taught me something. I believe it is something you must learn as well, but you will not truly understand it unless you undergo this experience. It is all right to fear it. It is not all right to doubt it."

"Then, why?"

"Because everything is temporary. From chaos comes beauty and balance. From pain comes enlightenment. From trial and tribulation comes a strength greater than that of any god."

"Wisdom."

"Yes…and you are full of wisdom, more so than you think."

"Is this the last time I will ever see you, brother?"

"Most likely…but I must remind you that not even I am always correct in my predictions. No one is."

"Is there anything more you can give me?"

"There is more to you than you realize. The high priest does not fear you because of your psychic abilities. There is no reason for him to fear that. There is something more than that, something terrible to him, something that may destroy him and everything he believes in if unchecked. You do not know this because it was hidden from you. I will reveal things to you that are disturbing, dangerous, and frightening at times. However, Da'an, I want you to remember that this power will not make you a god. It was not meant to because you are not a god. Neither of us is, and no mortal is meant to be. Your objective is not to use this power to challenge fate. If you try, you will fail and you will lose your sanity in the process. This power is not meant to be a burden, it is meant to help you. It is meant to guide you, and that is it."

Da'an nodded. "I do not understand. What is it that I am supposed to do with this?"

Ma'el lifted Da'an from the ground and lay on his side to that he could face her. "I cannot tell you that. This power is different for everyone who wields it. Who am I to tell you what to do with it?"

"You are my brother."

"I am sorry. When this is all over, you will know clarity. I promise you, these questions you have will be answered. But it is not my duty to answer them for you. My only duty left to you is to give you the means to answer these questions for yourself. I do not wish to give you a fish every time you hunger. My aim is to teach you to fish on your own so that you will never go hungry even without me."

Da'an blushed uneasily. She could feel a tremor deep inside her throat and her chest.

"Are you ready?"

"No," Da'an shuddered.

"Do not fear, my sister," Ma'el said in a voice that sounded like joy and encouragement. "With all of its setbacks, this power is the greatest power you could ever have. If utilized properly, it will help bring about the end of a tyrant and the beginnings of our evolution. All of those pieces that have been tormenting you with confusion will become clear when you receive this gift. With my power, you will be on equal ground with the priests, particularly the high priest. All the answers you could ever want will come to you. You only need to maintain an awakened and open mind."

He placed his hands on Da'an's cheeks.

"And remember, there is always light even in the darkest and most chaotic places," Ma'el assured. "I will always love you. I will always protect you, for with this power, you will carry me with you always."

"I wish I could have done the same for you."

"You did, and you still do."

Da'an had expected a violent rush of energy or pain. Instead, the feeling was blissful. The information smoothly absorbed into her mind, filling it with bits of information and visions. She realized that Ma'el had set out to make the transference as painless as possible for her in order to ease her fears. The passing took seconds, not minutes, and the whole time Ma'el was transferring thoughts and memories of them together—precious memories that Da'an had kept safe in the most private part of her mind. When memories of her childhood returned to her, she stored them in the deepest and most secretive part of her mind. She never wanted to lose those precious memories again. She had never shared them with anyone, not even Link and Tay'jay. But at this moment, she shared them with her twin brother and let him fill all the holes in her memory.

A new and unusual memory came to Da'an. She saw herself walking in a violet and red garden. She was in a thin white robe, and she stopped to meditate in a bed of violet grass.

You are at peace today, a voice she had heard before said.

When she turned, she saw the Priest of Responsibility in a blue robe…without his mask. Painted on his transparent face were glowing white symbols of his name. Da'an memorized the name and his face as she walked towards him.

Why would I not be at peace? It is an honor to serve you and your brothers.

Something troubles you.

I do not understand why you chose me and only me.

We chose you because there is no other like you.

What will be expected of me when I leave this place?

You will be expected to serve the Commonality to the best of your abilities and to always act in the best interests of our brethren.

The knowledge you give me will remain with me for the rest of my days, but the memory and the experience will die. How can I retain the knowledge without the experience?

Knowledge is not always associated with memory. You have spoken to the Priest of Knowledge about this already.

I did not understand much of what he said.

You are not meant to understand. That is not the purpose of our taking you. You are an enlightened soul, and our purpose is to fill you with knowledge that will matter to you later. You do not understand because you do not need to at this time. However, when the time comes, all will be clear to you, and you will thank us, my child.

Then, what is my lesson for today?

Patience. Patience and serenity. Sit with me.

What shall I do?

Sit and watch the stars with me.

When the passing ended, Da'an found herself lying on the ground again with her head once again in Ma'el's lap. She felt as if she had been asleep for hours, and she had awakened in his lap.

"Even the wisest men can be saved," Da'an realized. "The priests are not our enemy. It is their leader."

"A revelation, one of many," Ma'el said.

"Thank you."

All my mind and soul to you. All my love to you, Da'an.

There was a huge gust of wind and the desert realm floated away with the winds along with the image of her brother.

"Now go do what you were born to do."

Da'an stood on her feet and let the cool breeze overtake her body. She could feel it pushing her forward and she walked with it. She walked with it until the desert sands were gone and she found herself on a white floor, surrounded by glowing crystals, facing her friends.

There was awe in their eyes, she could tell, but she did not have time to inquire.

She ran towards Auger and tackled him. Both of them disappeared in a white light and reappeared behind Liam and Renee, who were still in the middle of the gunfight.

"Da'an!" Liam cried. "What's going on?"

"Get him and everyone else out now," Da'an told them quickly, shoving Auger into Liam's hands. Then, she made a mad dash past several confused soldiers towards a shuttle and started shifting through the emergency cargo.

"But most of the shuttles are miles away," Renee objected, who had taken Auger and followed her.

"Then, use the portables you have in your closest shuttles," Da'an said sternly, not even looking at them as she searched through the cargo. She pulled out a box containing portables, flung it open, grabbed a portable and threw the box at Renee and Auger's feet. "Get out now!"

"Wait!" Auger cried. "What's going on?"

"Just do it!" Da'an yelled. Then she disappeared in another white light.

"What the hell is she planning on doing?" Auger asked.

"Oh my God!" Renee cried the moment she figured it out. "Remember the red light, Auger? She's gonna blow the entire labyrinth to keep anyone else from using it again."

"What?" Auger yelled.

"All ANA troops, retreat now!" Renee yelled into the radio and aloud again just in case no one heard the message. "Liam!"

"You don't need the radio, Renee," Liam said. "I can hear you fine from over here. What's going on?"

"We've got to evacuate everyone off this mountain right now. Use those portables we've got in our shuttles to get everyone back to ANA headquarters."

"Right," Liam said.

* * *

When Da'an returned, Link and Tay'jay ran towards Da'an to inquire what was going on. In her arms was the portable she had grabbed.

"Are you crazy!" Tay'jay cried. "What are you doing?"

"There's no time," Da'an said, quickly setting up the portable and programming their coordinates. Then, she grabbed Ma'el's wooden box and shoved it into Tay'jay's arms. "This portable will take you to another one of the stations where the volunteers were. The moment you reach the other side get in a shuttle and get above ground. Activate your shields and wait for me."

"Whoa! Wait a second," Link cried, who had a pretty good idea of what she was going to do when he saw the gateway beginning to close. "I'm not leaving you here alone."

"You must!" Da'an yelled. "I'll be all right."

"What are going to do?" Mi'en asked.

That was when it hit Tay'jay. "Come on, Mi'en," Tay'jay said grabbing her with his free hand and pulling her in front of the portable. "Link hit the switch."

"Wait! Da'an!" Mi'en cried.

Link shook his head and activated the portable. When they disappeared, Da'an saw the gateway had not yet closed. Good. She still had time. But before she could execute her plan, she heard the shifting of a body. It was Sandoval! Miraculously, he had survived the gateway and was slowly recovering himself. Da'an groaned in frustration both at the sudden inconvenience and at what she was about to do with Sandoval. She rushed over to him and shook him until she knew he was awake enough to hear her.

"I don't have time to explain why I'm helping you," she said quickly as she hauled his body in front of the portable. "The Mothership is no doubt overhead to allow your forces to communicate. I am sending you to the bridge. Contact the volunteers when you get there and tell them to evacuate. Do not forget what I've just said!"

Before Sandoval could inquire, he disappeared into interdimensional space and exited on to the bridge of the Mothership. Zo'or caught sight of him, pulled him to his feet and inquired sternly as to what was happening.

"You need to evacuate the volunteers now," Sandoval whispered quickly. Then he fainted.

Zo'or rolled his eyes and told his pilots to send the Mothership over the mountain. From there, they would use a transport beam they had used to capture skrills on their home worlds to send all the volunteers on to the ship. When every last one was on board, the Mothership disappeared from the mountain and back into its usual orbit around the Moon.

* * *

Renee and Liam were too busy sending group after group into the portables and back to headquarters to even notice what the Mothership had done. Auger was powering an ANA shuttle. He had somehow convinced Liam and Renee not to leave the mountain until he was sure Da'an and the others were all right. When the last squads were finally gone and Liam and Renee were certain no one was left, they boarded the shuttle, and none too soon either. The moment they boarded, the ground of the mountain began to quake terribly. Liam secured himself in the pilot seat while Renee and Auger strapped in the passengers' seats. As they lifted from the ground, the same destructive red light shot out of all eight entrances to the maze. Liam knew that Auger wanted to stay, but he couldn't. The radiation was disrupting the instruments and he had to escape into interdimensional space before the sensors fried completely. So he ignored Auger's vehement objections and sent the shuttle into ID space with Renee trying to calm him along the way. Liam himself said a silent prayer for Da'an.

* * *

When Mi'en, Link, and Tay'jay came out of the portable, they ran to the closest shuttle they could find. Mi'en activated it and told the others to strap in tight. Then, she lifted the shuttle off the ground. That was when she noticed the Mothership had appeared overhead and was beaming volunteers on board.

"Looks like someone warned Zo'or about what sis is gonna do," Tay'jay said.

"What _is_ she going to do?" Mi'en cried. "Why didn't she come with us?"

"She's gonna blow everything," Link said. "Just fly as far away as you can without going into ID space and put the shields up as high as they'll go."

Mi'en shook her head in disarray and flew the shuttle far away.

* * *

The moment she sent Sandoval away, Da'an let her façade disappear. She would need all the energy she could to do what she was about to do. She focused her mind, summoning all the energy she could without destroying herself. A brilliant bright red light replaced her blue eyes and then covered her entire body. The ground began to quake, and the heat emitting from her body had now become a brilliant red fire. The fire was hot enough to sear the crystal floor she was standing on, yet she did not feel the burn of the flames. In fact, she felt no pain at all. The gateway was now nothing more than a black hole and was seconds away from collapsing. This was the moment she had been waiting for. She ran as fast as she could and dove into the black hole, but before she disappeared with it, she released the red energy into the crystal floor that had covered the entire the maze from the giant starting points at each entrance to each separate chamber. The energy left her body in the form of a brilliant red beam wrapped in flames. She had figured this out from her first release in the chamber of Light where she had recovered Ma'el's possessions. The gateway finally closed with her in it, and the energy she had released became amplified by the crystals and the geothermal generator directly below them. It raced through like blood rushing through the veins and the white light that had originally lit the entire labyrinth was now a fierce red. That was all the generator could take. It exploded. Combined with the power of the red light circulating throughout the maze, this caused a chain reaction that took out one whole side of the mountain from the underground up to the surface. The beam shot up into space where the shockwave was powerful enough to even make the Mothership shake. The explosion back on Earth sent a shockwave that thrust Mi'en's shuttle forward.

"Hold on everyone!" she cried while struggling to regain control of the ship.

Alarms were blaring, sparks were flying, and the shuttle was groaning as Mi'en fought for control, but she managed to pull the shuttle back to normal flight.

Everyone at once breathed a huge sigh of relief.

"I _never_ wanna go through that again," Link panted, breaking the long silence.

"What about Da'an?" Tay'jay breathed. "What happened to her?"

"I'll send the shuttle back when it's clear enough," Mi'en said turning the shuttle around to face the massive crater and the dust cloud above it that had been left in the wake of the explosion.

"Jesus Christ," Link panted. "How could she survive that?"

"She said she'd be okay," Tay'jay said, clutching the wooden box Da'an had given him. "I believe her."

They waited for several minutes for the dust to clear enough for Mi'en to land. The sharp winds from an oncoming storm pushed the dust away much quicker than normal. Another shuttle appeared as they waited. It was Liam, Renee, and Auger.

"Mi'en, is that you?" Liam's voice asked over the radio.

"It's us," Mi'an said.

"Where's Da'an?" Liam asked in an excited tone. "Is she with you?"

"No," Mi'en said in a more worried tone than solemn. "She stayed behind to destroy the maze."

"Oh my God," Renee whispered to herself.

"But…she's okay right?" Auger asked.

"She wouldn't have told us to wait for her if she wasn't sure she'd be all right," Mi'en said.

"What should we do?" Renee asked.

"Just what she said to do," Liam replied. "Wait for her."

* * *

A light drizzle began to fall on the mountain. The sharp winds became all Mi'en and Liam could stand, so they landed their shuttles inside the crater and waited. It was at least an hour before the dust was finally clear enough for them to see anything. Tay'jay, Link, and Liam had already exited and were sitting atop Mi'en's shuttle with binoculars in their hands to see if they could get a better view. The stinging droplets of the drizzle seemed not to affect them one bit. Renee and Auger had chosen to remain inside and were eating the leftover rations in her shuttle. Mi'en had left her shuttle and joined Renee and Auger.

"We saw him," Tay'jay said to Liam.

"What?" Liam asked.

"He…He stepped out of the gateway the moment Da'an walked in and he spoke to us," Tay'jay said. "We saw him as plainly as we see you."

"Ma'el?" Liam asked.

"Yeah," Link said. "He said that I fortunate to have someone as special as her. He told me to never let her go no matter what happens. No matter how distant she seems, she will always return to me. Every time."

"That's not what he said," Tay'jay protested.

"Yes it is," Link said sternly. "I know what I heard. That's what he said."

"That's not what I heard," Tay'jay argued.

"Well, what did you hear?" Liam asked.

"He was addressing me," Tay'jay said. "He told me that I am an Amo'qui, and as an Amo'qui, I am destined for great things. He said it's up to me to lead the Espelons. It may seem like this is Da'an's role, but that role is mine."

"Why would we hear two different things from the same person?" Link asked.

"Well, what exactly did you two see?" Liam asked.

"Da'an entered the gateway and disappeared," Tay'jay said.

"Then, Ma'el came out at the exact same time that she disappeared and looked directly at me," Link said.

"But he was looking directly at me…as if no one else was there," Tay'jay said.

"Hmm," Liam thought for a moment. "You know when Ha'gel speaks to me it feels like no one else is there with me. It's just him and me. Maybe it was the same with you guys and Ma'el. Maybe he put you all in some kind of illusion where he could speak to you all at the same time."

"How is that possible?" Link asked.

Tay'jay laughed.

"What's so funny?" Link asked.

"Just something I've always noticed about Da'an and Ma'el," Tay'jay said. "Da'an and Ma'el are twins, and because they're twins they always behaved like they were two halves of a whole. You know, like a yin-yang. Ma'el was always into math and science, and Da'an was always into art, politics, and literature. Ma'el was always really outspoken, and Da'an was always kinda shy and quiet. Ma'el always liked to study things. He would perform science experiments and go outside and pick up specimens and take them home to study them. That used to annoy the hell outta Tam'bi. But Da'an always stayed inside and built things. When she lived with us, one time she spent the whole night just decorating the entire house. She loved building things from machines to sculptures. I think that's why everyone was so sure the Caste Minister would make her an engineer or an architect or something."

"So what changed his mind?" Link asked.

"Whenever Da'an wasn't making things, she read," Tay'jay said. "She'd read all about history and politics. She loved history and politics. She didn't talk much, but when she did, it was always about something political. She and Ma'el would get in these fights at night talking about what they would've done if they had been the great Synod leaders. When Ka'li took her to observe a Synod debate, she was hooked. I think diplomacy and all that's what brought her out of her nervous phase. That's why the Caste Minister made her a diplomat. But anyway, I think Ma'el and Da'an's psychic abilities are just like this two halves thing. Look at Da'an's abilities—teleportation, telekinesis, and pyrokinesis. Now look at what we know about Ma'el's abilities—telepathy and foresight. Da'an's abilities specialize in the physical and Ma'el's abilities specialize in the mental. That's what Da'an was talking about before she came to the gateway. She said Ma'el's powers were behind that gateway. Ma'el must have meant for her to go into the gateway so that he could pass his psychic abilities to her. I guess it's kinda his way of making her a whole person."

"But she's already a whole person," Link said.

"She proved that when she did Nye's ritual," Liam agreed.

"I think so too, but still," Tay'jay said, "you know sometimes you feel like no matter what you do there's something missing in your life? I think Da'an and Ma'el felt that way all the time. Because they're twins and they've been apart for so long, I think they've always felt like they were missing a piece of each other—a piece of themselves. Like one whole side of them was dead or dormant or something. Giving Da'an his powers is Ma'el's way of giving himself to her. It's his way of awakening another side of her."

"That's very profound, Tay'jay," Link said.

Tay'jay and Link laughed. "Hey, I've got my moments," Tay'jay chuckled.

"I wish I had been there to meet him," Liam said. "I've always wondered what he was like."

"He was amazing," Link said. "Anyone that can be in that many places at once…he's gotta be amazing."

Renee had asked Liam to keep his channel open so that could hear them in case they found Da'an. Because of this, the three who had chosen to remain inside could hear Liam, Link and Tay'jay's conversation from above.

"So what did Ma'el say to you two?" Renee asked.

"I'd…rather not say," Mi'en said uneasily. "It was about my…feelings for Da'an. I just…I only want to speak about it to her."

"I understand," Renee said softly.

"He said he was giving me a special message," Auger said, "a message to pass on to any human who falls into doubt and loses their faith. I don't know why he said this, but he said to remember his message in the coming years. He even made me memorize it."

"What was the message?" Renee asked.

"Religion is a conduit of faith, but conduits change and fade away. Never assume that religion and faith carry the same definition. What is important to the survival of man and mankind is the preservation of faith, not religion. Mankind can be enlightened without religion, but mankind cannot be enlightened without faith. A successful sentient species is one that can find a delicate balance between knowledge and faith because they often conflict. Knowledge without faith is a bleak and dismal world. Faith without knowledge points us towards ignorance and binds us to rules imposed by a higher power, even if that power is a corrupt one. Without faith, all the knowledge of man and god is a petty fantasy and a dream. The most troubling imperfection of man and mankind is that we never truly understand or appreciate this faith until we have our own awakening."

Mi'en stood suddenly and stared into the distance. "Look!"

A feminine figure in blue energy was walking over the rocky crater and towards the shuttle. The remaining particles of dust, and the drizzle itself seemed to part from touching her brilliant blue body as she walked towards them.

Link got one look at the figure and jumped down from the shuttle roof. He landed on his knees, but he ignored the pain, scrambled to his feet and ran towards the figure. She stopped walking and let him embrace her and kiss her.

"You are one crazy little bitch, you know that?" Link whispered still showering her with kisses as he spoke. "How did you get out?"

"Had I taken any longer, I probably would not have," Da'an answered. "Just before I started the chain reaction, I leapt into the gateway before it collapsed."

"But how'd you get out of the gateway?" Link asked. "How did you make it back?"

"I…I do not remember," Da'an said. "I awoke here in a cloud of dust."

"Hey!" Tay'jay's voice cried. He rushed up to Da'an with his speed and embraced her himself.

"I am gonna torture you in so many terrible ways when we get back!" Tay'jay cried. "You know you're wrong for this! Worrying your big brother like that—what the hell is your problem?"

"I'm sorry, big brother," Da'an said stroking the back of his neck. "But you know—"

"Don't say it," Tay'jay said.

"It was funny," Da'an teased despite his objections.

"I'ma kick your ass," Tay'jay said, embracing her despite the threat.

Mi'en then came with Liam, Renee and Auger following closely behind. She gave Da'an a think and long hypothermia blanket and wrapped it around her. "I know you have to be cold like that."

"Like what?" Auger asked.

"Which is probably why you're using your telekinesis to keep the rain from hitting you," Liam laughed.

"Well, that's why I'm here to keep her warm," Link said, pulling the wrapped up Da'an close to his chest, "so she don't need to use her telekinesis anymore."

"Why am I always the last to understand these Taelon-people…thingies?" Auger asked. "What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"Uh…" Da'an said uneasily. "I had to summon most of my psychic energy to start the chain reaction, and…the heat emitting from such an enormous amount of energy was…well let's just say the clothing I was wearing at that particular time was not strong enough to handle it."

"Ohhhhh," Auger nodded.

Renee and Liam burst out laughing.

"I swear to God, Da'an, you are gonna drive us all nuts if you keep doing stuff like this," Liam said.

"Hey, what happened to your hand?" Link asked taking a look at Da'an's scarred hand. She had reformed her façade when Mi'en placed the blanket around her. Originally, her scars had been blue, but now they were white and so brilliant that they glowed plainly for anyone to see them.

"The heat fused Ma'el's amplifier to my hand. Another permanent gift from my brother," Da'an said. When Link touched the hand, ripples suddenly parted revealing the invisible amplifier. It was like a virtual glass shield was now surrounding her hand.

"Huh," Mi'en said.

"What now?" Auger asked in frustration.

"An invisible glove. Invisible like crystal. A crystal glove," Mi'en said.

"Actually the crystal glove was put in the legend to praise Taelon innovation. In reality, he used only his hand and his willpower," Da'an said.

"Still…it makes you think," Mi'en said.

"I can't wait to tell you what it was like in the chamber when Ma'el talked to us, Da'an," Auger said excitedly.

"Ma'el spoke to you?" Da'an asked.

"Oh yeah," Tay'jay said excitedly, "and get this. He spoke to us all at the same time."

"Interesting," Da'an said to herself, and she began walking back towards the shuttle with Link still holding her closely.

But as she walked with her friends and as they all frantically and excitedly tried to explain their experiences to her, a feeling of immense sadness overcame her. She didn't want this moment to end. She wanted them all to stay like this—talking happily and laughing together. A whole new world was open to her now, and they would all face the costs of that world before they would see the benefits. For upon re-entering the gateway, she had seen a terrible vision. She had to prevent it at all costs.

The End


End file.
